Harry Potter and the Son of the Legend
by HarryBond007
Summary: An unexpected turn changes things to come. Time Travel. Philosopher's Stone time. [ON HOLD]
1. Official Letters

**1\. DISCLAIMER. The obvious. I do not own anything. Thanks to Ms Rowling for giving us such wonderful stories. Nothing of what I write is part of HP canon. This story is mostly focused on canon characters but even if a character created by me pops up it would still be set on HP's world, I do not pretend to do anything with those characters besides having some fun writing this.  
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**2\. Thanks a lot to Jetsun1119 for the help with this story. Also thnx to weirdnessunleashed who helped with the first draft of this chap.**

**3\. Any error here is mine and not from my reviewer. If you spot anything or have a doubt about grammar used or plot just PM me, I'm always swift to answer.**

**4\. Enjoy.**

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**RON**

"Ron! Breakfast !"

The redhead jumped up from bed at the sound of his mother's voice. Waking up early in the morning was not one of Ron's favorite things to do, but he knew better than to upset his mother once she started to get impatient.

"I'm coming!" he howled back, as he hopped out of bed to find a pair of socks that matched. His room was still quite a mess, but cleaning could surely wait until noon, or later; he just had to avoid his mother getting a glimpse inside for the time being.

He was about to go down to grab some food when he noticed a well- worn bit of paper sticking out from beneath his pillow. Ron's face brightened instantly; he had spent years waiting for that piece of paper to arrive in the mail, and hadn't let it out of his sight since.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY._

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Weasley,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Ever since he could remember, Ron had been hearing wonderful stories about Hogwarts, and he could barely contain his excitement. He had five older brothers, all of whom were sorted into Gryffindor, the House of the bravest wizards. Ron wished he could be there too; the Weasleys had been Gryffindors since, well, ever, so he didn't know how his family would react if he turned out to be a Hufflepuff.

He put the thought aside almost immediately. All Weasleys were Gryffindors, and besides, he had heard that the Hufflepuffs were a bunch of pushovers. He certainly wasn't like that- nobody could be with Fred and George for brothers!

"RONALD!"

The boy almost fell to the floor this time. He stuffed the letter back under the pillow at once, and ran downstairs as fast as a speeding bludger.

Everybody was already there; even Ginny, who, being the youngest, usually overslept as much as he did. As well as everybody else she was all dressed up for the day since Ron's parents had mentioned something about going out in the morning to enjoy the countryside.

"Good morning, Ickle little Ronniekins - ", said Fred, in a high-pitched voice.

"-your breakfast is getting cold." George finished.

Completing each other's sentences was the least annoying thing the twins did.

"You should try waking up earlier, unless you want to miss the train next month. "

"I wonder what happens if you do…"

"By the looks of it, we'll find out soon enough. " Ron glared at them, wishing he knew some of the hexes his brothers talked about.

"Shut up!" he retorted.

"Boys, leave your brother alone," said Ron's father, who was at home, as it was Saturday. He worked at the Ministry of Magic at the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office which fascinated him because he was a huge fan of Muggle things. Ron had kind of inherited his father's curiosity about Muggles, mainly because he had lived with magic all his life and couldn't imagine how Muggles got by without any.

"We're going shopping at Diagon Alley for supplies tomorrow, and anybody who doesn't behave can stay home," Ron's mother added sharply.

Ginny frowned a bit, she was going to be home alone for the next year and it was clear that she didn't like that. However, Ron knew that his sister wouldn't want to miss the trip to Diagon Alley anyway.

"Mother, do you think that I can have a new set of robes for this year?" Percy asked. He was the oldest Weasley brother who still lived at the Burrow. Ron had two older brothers, Charlie and Bill, but they had already finished school and were working abroad.

"We'll see, Percy."

Ron was halfway through his breakfast when someone knocked at the front door. A few curious looks were exchanged.

"Wonder who that might be. Were you expecting someone, Arthur?" asked Ron's mother.

"No, dear."

"All right, I'll check." she said walking out of the room.

Ron's attention went back to his plate but before he could put any more food in his mouth, a girl's voice rang out, high-pitched and clear.

"Grandma!"

The Weasleys turned their heads towards the door, Ron's father put his paper down and looked mildly puzzled.

"Who's that?!" Fred asked, his question was mirrored across the faces of all the Weasley siblings.

"It must be a mistake" their father said as he stood up.

The Weasleys looked at one another, surprised and pleased at the unexpected excitement. Percy tried to appear uninterested, but even he sneaked a glance toward the door. The twins pushed back their chairs and tried to follow their father, but they didn't get too far.

Ron's father had barely given a couple of steps towards the entrance when his wife appeared in the kitchen clearly overwhelmed, four kids were standing by her side. Everybody went silent.

"Arthur...", she said, her words barely audible, "They called me…Grandma. I thought that they were confused, but…well, look at them."

Ron looked up with a mouth full of buttered toast, wondering what was so strange about some kids who had most probably lost their way. The oldest one had untidy black hair and was around Ron's age, the boy might be starting Hogwarts this year with him. Next to him a younger girl with bushy hair was staring at them open-mouthed. She had so many freckles on her face and her hair was so red that Ron was thinking they might be related. There was also another boy with untidy black hair, he looked a lot like the first one, but his eyes were green and he was younger. Then, Ron's eyes fell on the boy standing behind the redhead girl, and the toast fell out of his mouth.

Ron couldn't help staring at the kid. The boy was almost an exact copy of himself, only younger. It was so like looking in a mirror that he just sat there with his mouth hanging open.

The first to recover were the twins. They still didn't seem to have a clue of what was going on, though.

"Ickle little Ronnie! There's two of you!" Fred yelled.

"Hey! that was our thing!" George said crossing his arms.

"Er, yes, well, we need to find out who these kids belong to and take them home," said Ron's father.

Then someone yelled and Ron discovered that the voice belonged to a girl that he hadn't notice before because she was barely peering from behind his mother, "Grandpa! you know who we are!" the fifth kid said.

"Lily! Sshh!" the girl with the bushy hair said to her, putting a finger on her mouth as a sign to be quiet. And all eyes turned to Ginny, since the girl who had spoken looked as much like her as the red-haired boy looked like Ron.

When Ginny noticed the sudden attention she addressed the room, "What's wrong?"

"Great. Now everybody has a twin." George said.

"Percy doesn't." Fred observed.

"Hmm…" George scratched his chin with a finger so he could give the impression of being in deep thought, "Well, I believe that the world couldn't take two of that one." Percy glared at George's comment.

By that time, Ginny had realized what was happening and was staring goggle-eyed at the girl they had called Lily.

"This is weird." Ron said, still keeping an eye on his younger look-alike.

"Okay, let's all calm down," Ron's father said, turning to the five mysterious kids, "We don't know what is going on here but we'll help you find your parents. Let's all go to the living room; it's a little crowded in here."

The new arrivals turned to look at each other, and after a slight nod from the eldest, they walked into the living room.

"We're definitely not going to miss this," said George, beckoning for Fred to follow him.

Ron was struggling between his curiosity and the sausages on his plate, but in the end, curiosity got the better of him, and he stood up. Percy exhaled, as though this was a minor inconvenience that cut through his plans for the day, but he joined them anyway. Ginny came last, trying to hide behind him, confused, scared, and very much curious.

"They're probably lost, and looking for their parents, and just happened to knock on our door," Ron heard Percy say as they stepped out of the kitchen.

"Or grandparents." Ginny added, in a very low voice. She was still shooting some furtive glances at Lily, she couldn't look away for very long. Ron, on the other hand, only wanted to look as far away from his double as possible. He had seen enough.

Soon, all of them were seated in the living room; the newcomers bundled together on a single couch, looking nervous.

"Ok, first things first, who are you? Can you tell us your names?" asked Ron's father.

"But…you know our names!" Lily said. Ron's could-be twin was nodding vigorously in agreement.

"Our memories are kind of fuzzy today. Could you repeat them for us?" he insisted, in a kind voice.

"Well…" The little girl seemed confused as she turned to the oldest boy, who nodded, and she said, "I'm Lily."

"James." said the oldest boy.

"My name is Rose." the girl with the bushy hair followed him.

"Al." the other black haired boy added.

Ron's eyes travelled to the red-haired boy that intrigued him so much. "Hugo." the boy said shyly.

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves. Well -" Percy began, but before he could say anything more, the boy named Al spoke.

"We know you already, Uncle Percy, but you look different. Like, a lot…younger." he said, looking even more confused now than he had when he started talking.

Percy's eyebrows raised a bit, and he turned to look at his parents who were equally confused. Ron himself didn't have a single idea of what was going on. There was a brief silence.

"How did you get here? Where are your parents?" Ron's mother had finally found her voice again.

James scratched his head, clearly confused; the boy looked across at Rose, and spoke, very slowly, as though he was trying to make sense of what he was saying. "Er...this is confusing, I don't know what's happening…I thought that you were our grandparents…but you look…younger. All of you look…very, very, very young."

All the kids nodded at the last part, looking around at everyone very intently. There was a sudden gasp from Rose, who was standing as though stunned, with her eyes as round as Galleons.

James raised an eyebrow at her, and then turned to see where she was looking. His jaw dropped, as he stared at the twins in the corner of the room.

"Um. What?" asked George.

"Do we have something on our faces?" Fred asked.

"Why are there are two of Uncle George?" asked Lily to Al.

Al looked just as confused, but smiled weakly at Lily and turned to the oldest boy, "James, do you think this has something to do with that golden chain?"

"Err... I don't know Al, maybe it shrinks people."

"You shouldn't have grabbed it in the first place." snorted Rose.

"We all did."

"We did not, it was only you!" the redhead girl replied.

"But we all agreed-"

"No we didn't!"

Lucky for all of them, Ron's father knew how to handle a bunch of arguing kids. "Kids, kids, we cannot help you if you don't stop fighting," he said. "Calm down and tell us what happened."

That seemed to have some effect, but they were still glaring at each other and muttering things that Ron couldn't quite understand.

"At this pace, Ginny will start Hogwarts before we find out who they are." one of the twins said.

"That seems about right."

Somehow, this seemed to have an unexpected effect on the kids, who immediately stopped bickering and turned to look at the twins with alarmed faces.

"Sh-she hasn't been to Hogwarts yet?" James asked moving his brown eyes between the twins and Ginny.

"Of course not, Gin-Gin is ten."

"TEN?" said Rose jumping up, when everyone turned to look at her, she seemed to be doing some very quick thinking. She gave James a weird look, and asked, "Grandpa, what year is it?"

That was an unexpected question. Ron raised his eyebrows and turned to his father, curious about how would he answer.

Ron's father apparently decided to ignore the 'Grandpa' part, and looked at Rose intently. After all, not many eleven year olds went around asking what year it was. "1991, of course," he said, surely wondering what in Merlin's beard was going on in his house.

James let out a little gasp. Rose slowly turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"That's not right, is it?" Ron heard the little copy of himself ask the other kids.

"What's not right, darling?" asked Ron's mother.

"Erm…we…" James started, but he was cut off by Rose, who smacked him loudly on the shoulder. "Oi! What did you do that for?" he complained.

"Sshh!"

"What, what did I do?" the boy asked.

Before the girl could say anything, Al asked, "Do you think telling them is a good idea, James?"

"We need someone to help us, can you think of anyone else?"

"No…" Al answered, trying to think.

"All right then, any other objections? Rose?" James asked, turning to the bushy haired girl, who was still glaring at him.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. Besides, Mum wouldn't approve," she mumbled, crossing her arms.

Hugo nodded, but Ron had the feeling the boy still didn't understand quite as well what was going on.

"Oh come on! Aunt Hermione doesn't like most of the things we do!" James said.

Rose frowned at him. "She doesn't like most of the things you do! It's your fault that we are here in the first place!" she yelled.

"Everyone wanted to explore Dad's office!"

"That's not true, and you know it!"

"You were there!"

"Because I wanted to take you all out!"

For fear of it turning into a full blown argument, Ron's father decided to intervene.

"Okay, time-out! James, isn't it?" he asked the boy, looking at him.

After a slow nod from James, he continued talking. "You seem to have figured out what's going on. I need you to tell us, so that we can take you back to your parents."

"Eh, well, we are…your grand-kids, from the future. Ta-da," said James with a grin.

"James!" Rose said. "You should not have said that. We need to go back now!"

"And how exactly are we going to do that?"

They glared at each other, while the other kids sighed in exasperation. Ron didn't have a clue what was happening. Here were five kids claiming to be his parents' grandchildren. As if that wasn't crazy enough, they said they were from the future. All his life, he hadn't heard a thing about time-travel. It had to be a dream, and he needed to wake up soon.

"You're lying." Percy spoke up, for the first time.

"What?" James and Rose said at the same time, turning to look at Percy. They were so immersed in their own argument that they didn't get what Percy saying.

"You're lying. You cannot time travel...that's not possible, much less for the great amount of time that you are implying."

"Well, we did," said Rose, frowning at him.

Only moments ago she had been mad at James for saying the whole 'we are from the future' thing and now she was ready to take on Percy while backing up the same thing. Clearly, she didn't like to be accused of lying.

"Prove it," said Percy, wanting to hold his own.

"Oh, well…" James ran his fingers through his hair, all the five kids were looking at each other. "1991 you said? How about sports results? Do you want to know who wins the league this year? Rose would know." the boy said, smirking at her, while Rose threw a nasty glare at him.

"James, that won't work. We'd have to wait until the league finishes so they could believe us." Al said.

"Not really, we would want to know either way." George said.

"Yeah, very good betting information," Fred completed.

"FRED!" Ron's mother yelled.

At that all the five kids turned to look at the twin. "No way," said James, staring at Fred.

"Okay, okay, we won't bet on them, calm down, little guy," said Fred, clearly mistaking the reason for their shocked faces.

"Okay, so no sports." Rose said after a moment, clearly anxious to change the subject.

James picked up on her signal. "Oh, I think I have something; do you know Dad yet?"

"Your father?" asked Ron's mother.

"Yeah, he gets into the Quidditch team in his first year, we won't have to wait for the league to finish to know that. Wait... we're still in August, right? I don't know how this time travel thing works."

All of the Weasleys were stunned, Ron had barely understood half of what the boy said.

"James! We are changing things by being here, he might not get into the team this time," Rose reprimanded him.

"Oh, right," James said, running his hand through his hair. He did that a lot.

"Quidditch team?" Fred asked amazed.

"First year?" George added.

"That's not possible."

Everyone knew that they couldn't be on the Quidditch team until they were second years, even Ron and Ginny knew that. Ron was beginning to think the kids were crazy.

"Let me see if I can get this straight." Ron's father started, looking at the kids. "You say that you are from the future."

James and Al nodded, while Rose was deep in thought about something else. She also kept stealing glances at Fred when she thought no one was looking.

"And we are… your grandparents?" Ron's father seemed to have difficulty saying that out loud.

They nodded again.

"Hmmm... What was that about it being August?"

"Before we came here it was August, and I was wondering if we were still in August, that could help us think of something to prove who we are." James said.

Ron saw his father raising an eyebrow. "Today is August the third, 1991," he said, watching the boy carefully.

A smile appeared on James' face. "Great, then when Dad makes it to the team this year you will believe us. If he does, that is."

"Who's your father again?"

"Has to be one of us, right?" Fred asked.

Ron was surprised by that. "One of us?" he asked.

"Come on Ickle Ronnie! They are from the future, they seem to know us-"

"-and they called them 'grandparents'!"

Ron's eyes widened. This was the weirdest dream he'd ever had, hands down.

"They don't know Dad yet." Al said to James.

"I noticed, thank you, Al." James said sarcastically.

"See? You're lying! If you were telling the truth then how could we not know your father?" Percy was clearly annoyed. "If you are who you say you are, then your father should be one of-" he stopped suddenly at that point.

Percy turned around to look at Ginny, paling. "Unless... you're… I mean... you're Ginny's kids?"

Ron was stunned. His little sister, a mother? Please. She was ten. Barely old enough to go to School with them. All eyes turned to Ginny.

"Hey, Mum, how are you?" James said happily, waving at Ginny. At this, Ginny's jaw dropped and her big eyes grew alert and fearful. She watched James with mild curiosity.

Rose looked appalled, and covered her face with her right hand.

The living room was silent again, except the crackling of the fire, nothing was heard.

"I know!" Al suddenly shouted, jostling everyone from their thoughts.

"What?" Rose asked.

"I know how to prove that we aren't making all this up!"

"How?!" James asked excited.

"That thing that you grabbed from Dad's office, the golden chain. They may know what it is."

"Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about that. Hang on," said James, as he fumbled with his shirt, and pulled out a thin golden chain. It was almost liquid-like, and had a weird set of tiny golden hourglasses hanging from it.

Percy and Ron's father had looks of disbelief on their faces, and both came closer to have a better look.

"That's a time-turner!" Percy yelled, turning pale.

Ron looked at the tiny thing. A time-turner? What was a time-turner?

The kids didn't say anything, they didn't look like they understood the hourglass thing much better than Ron.

"What's a time-turner?" Lily asked James, but the boy seemed to be as clueless as her.

"This, I guess," the boy said, looking at it.

"Dad, that thing…you know what it is!" Percy said, almost jumping with excitement. "It's used to travel through time... but they are highly controlled by the Ministry!"

"So... they're telling the truth?" Ron asked, open-mouthed. He was beginning to understand, but he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"I- I- I don't know... but it's not possible! Time turners can only go back a few hours."

"Apparently, that one there is better than the ones at the Ministry." George said casually, earning a glare from Percy.

"This one is special! Mum did it so it is be better!" Hugo said.

"Mum? You mean…Ginny?" asked Ron's mother, looking unsure.

"No, Grandma! Not Aunt Ginny," the boy said, puzzled, "Mum did."

Ron was very confused now. "Didn't you just say Ginny was your mum?"

"Of course he didn't!" Rose said. "Aunt Ginny is James', Al's and Lily's mother."

"It's too early for word problems. Dad, are you getting this?" George asked, while Fred shook his head in disbelief.

Ron's father let out a sigh. He got up slowly, massaged his temples, and said quietly, "First things first. James, could you please take that out of your neck and put it on that small table, very slowly?"

James nodded and he did as he was told.

"Thank you. Now you three -" he said, pointing at James, Al, and Lily, "- are Ginny's kids?"

The three of them nodded, and looked at Ginny, who looked like she was trying very hard to turn invisible. Nevertheless, she couldn't stop looking at the children who claimed to be her kids.

"But, you called me 'Grandpa' too," he said, looking back at Rose.

"You are my grandfather." she said. "James, Al and Lily are my cousins."

"Woah!" said Fred, "Hugo, isn't it?" he asked the shy red-head. Hugo nodded.

"Five sickles on Hugo being Ickle Ronnie's boy," Fred concluded, turning to his twin.

Ron's eyes widened at that and he turned to look at the boy, this was just too much for him.

"There's no bet there, brother, the real question would be...who was dumb enough to marry him?" George wondered out loud.

"George Weasley!" said Ron's mother, and shot him a look.

"Hey!" shouted Rose.

"She's not dumb! Mum is really smart!" said Hugo looking offended, while Rose narrowed her eyes at George.

"Seems like you have two," Fred said, looking at Ron, who whipped back to stare at the girl. Apart from the eyes, the freckles and the hair, she didn't look anything like him. She did look like a Weasley though.

"Is that true?" Ron's mother asked, looking at Rose, a smile breaking out on her face.

Rose nodded in defeat. "Hugo is my brother and that is our father" she said pointing at Ron who almost fell from his seat at those words. "but he is almost our age."

"Calm down, we'll sort everything out," said Ron's mother as she walked towards the kids; a warm, reassuring smile on her face.

"Molly dear, we are not sure what's happening here yet."

"They are scared, Arthur! And, well…they could be our grandchildren-" she answered pointing at the weird golden chain. As she reached the couch, she put her arm around the kids in one giant bear hug.

It might have been weird for Ron to see his mother hugging five strange kids, but he had bigger worries in mind. Like having a kid, for example. Or two. Or being married. He shook his head, and whispered to himself, "Mental, the whole lot of them."

"Molly- " Ron's father began, but was rudely interrupted by a pair of tawny owls that swooped in through the window at the same time. Each of the owls carried identical envelopes, with a large 'M' printed on them.

"Those are from the Ministry," observed Ron's father, "but they don't look like they are for me. Ron, Ginny, I think the owls want you to relieve them."

The dumbfounded brother and sister looked up, and realized that the owls were, in fact, hovering above them. Why would the Ministry be writing to them?

"Do you think this could be about the kids?" Ron heard his mother whisper.

"Could be, dear. Ron, Ginny, what do the letters say?"

Ron nodded as he slowly opened his letter. The Ministry owls, satisfied with the delivery, took off through the window into the bright blue.

_Dear Mr. Weasley,_

_It has been brought to our attention that you got married this morning at ten minutes past nine._

_This is usually a formality to send you our dearest congratulations__, however, we also seemed to notice that you are currently eleven years of age. The Ministry is puzzled as to how this Marriage has taken place, and found its way into our records as a legally authorized bond. As per the Wizengamot guidelines, the minimum age of consent for marriage is fourteen years, which is also the age at which marriage spells can be placed upon the involved persons._

_We at the Ministry are thrilled to know how this happened, and so, we request your presence for a clarification hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9:30 a.m. on the fifth of August._

_Enjoy your holidays and congratulations to you and your new wife!_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Magiries Droverson_

_WIZARDRY REGISTERS AND BONDS OFFICE_

Ron was gawking at his letter, open-mouthed, when the twins started losing their patience.

"Come on, Ron, what does it say?" George asked, trying to get a better look at Ron's face.

The boy was paralysed though, unable to move.

"What is it, son?" asked his father.

"It-it…it says…" Ron's ears grew crimson. "It says that I-I'm...m-married," he finally blurted.

"WHAT?!" Ron's mother yelled, making everyone jump. In a second, she was across the room, and snatched the letter from Ron. As she got nearer to the end, her eyes grew narrower, always a danger sign.

"This is outrageous! Arthur, look at this!" she said, handing the piece of parchment to her husband.

While he read the letter, the twins crept up slowly behind their father so that they could get in on the action.

Ron's mother paced around the room yelling, "There has to be a mistake! You need to go and check this out!"

"I don't know what is going on, but this can't be right. At the time mentioned, he was right here having breakfast," said Ron's father after reading the letter, trying make some sense out of it.

Ron nodded with his mouth wide open.

"Son, have you been doing magic or anything else that may have caused this?"

"No," Ron answered weakly.

"I do believe you but I had to ask, no one should be capable of doing this and you don't even have a wand yet... Something very strange is happening, and I don't know what could have caused it. I'll go to the Ministry and see what I can find out. It's a Saturday, but hopefully I can find someone that can explain this…well, at least a part of this," he said as he stood up.

"What about Mummy's letter?" Lily asked. Everyone had forgotten about it, what with all the eleven-year-old-boy-being-married commotion.

Eleven pairs of eyes landed on Ginny, who was standing in the corner with the letter still unopened. She was holding it as if it were some kind of dangerous artefact.

"Why haven't you opened yours?" Ron asked still nervous.

"It's not for me." she said weakly but her eyes showed a great surprise. The girl's cheeks a slight tone of pink that was barely distinguishable.

"The owl gave it to you, of course it is yours" Percy added.

"It is not for me!" she insisted frowning.

"Then who is it for?" George asked, trying to look at the envelope.

"It...it says…Mrs P-potter." she said, as a pink colour crept into her cheeks.

"Potter as in 'the Potter'?" George asked completely stunned.

"I don't know any other Potter." his father answered, looking at his wife.

"Let me see that!" screamed Ron's mother, as she darted forward to take the letter.

"All this mayhem…and we didn't even have anything to do with it," said Fred to George, genuinely looking disappointed.

When she was over she handed it to her husband, looking worried, "It does say Mrs. Potter. But then why did the owl give it to her?"

"So is it her letter? is she married too?" Fred asked causing Ginny's eyes to grow as saucers.

"She is not married, she's only ten." his mother said.

"She's married to Dad!" Lily yelled. Ron had forgotten about the kids and when he turned to look at them he saw the confused looks on their faces.

"What's your father's name?"

"You know that Grandpa, everybody knows him. His name is Harry. Why is everybody forgetting things?" she asked petulantly.

For what seemed like a pretty long time all of them were frozen.

"Harry? Harry Potter?" Ron's mother asked completely paralysed.

All of the kids nodded.

That was met with another bout of silence. It was a strange day at the Burrow, indeed.

"Why is everyone acting so weird?" Hugo finally asked, deciding that silence wasn't the best way to sort this out.

"We're all in the past Hugo! They haven't met Dad yet." Al explained calmly.

"They will know him next month, well, at least Uncle Ron will." James said, looking pleased with himself.

"I get to know Harry Potter?" Ron asked, the information shocking him so much he didn't even register that they boy called him 'Uncle Ron'.

"He's your best friend," Hugo added, as though that cleared things up.

"So…," said Percy, thinking very hard. "So you say that Ron meets Harry Potter, they become best friends, and then Ginny gets married to him?"

Al, Hugo, and Rose nodded.

No one knew what to say. Harry Potter was a hero in their world and even when Ron was usually told that he was around his age he never thought that he would be able to meet him. Ron was so stunned that he didn't even notice the stares that his brothers were throwing at Ginny and him as if they were some kind of weird creatures.

"That's enough!" said Ron's mother. "I don't care if it's Harry Potter, Ginny is ten and she is not getting married!"

"Molly, please calm down, I'll go to the Ministry and-"

"Calm down?! How can you ask me to calm down?! Are you not listening to this?! Apparently two of my kids are married! And they are barely old enough to –"

She was interrupted by a loud knock on the main door.

"Oh this is not a good time for visits!"

"I'll go get it" Ron's father said and he rushed towards the door.

When he was gone Fred spoke to his twin. "I'm guessing that's our kids at the door."

"Or Percy's cats," chortled George.

Lucky for him, Percy was busy reading Ron's letter from the Ministry and didn't hear him.

"Molly?" called Ron's father, and entered a minute later, followed by two people. Everyone stood up, for there was no mistaking that silver beard, twinkling blue eyes, and the half-moon glasses. Albus Dumbledore was in the living room, his surroundings suddenly looking very dull and ordinary. No one noticed the boy standing next to him, at least not at first.

Ron hadn't met him before but he was sure that the man was his future headmaster, he couldn't be wrong on this, after all he had more than enough chocolate frog cards with the man's accomplishments and his picture on them.

"Professor Dumbledore!" exclaimed three voices, the boys who had already been to Hogwarts. Dumbledore smiled, and his eyes came to rest on the group of five children, who had suddenly crept closer to each other, all of them looking up in awe at the him.

Only after Dumbledore moved from the door did the Weasleys notice the boy standing behind him. He looked so much like Al, that the twins and Ron whipped back to make sure that he was still with his brother and sister.

"Oh, blimey," said Fred.

"Is that –" said George.

"Course it is."

"What?" asked Ron.

"The scar," the twins said, simultaneously.

The boy standing next to Dumbledore looked like Al, but he was thinner, had untidier black hair, round black glasses, and…an unmistakable scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt.

Standing in the living room, looking as normal as ever, was Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.


	2. A Real Family

**Well, just pointing out that Jetsun1119 helped me review this chap. I'm very grateful for that, I do feel that many of my original problems are solved with this new version.**

* * *

**HARRY**

A couple of days had passed at Privet Drive since his birthday and the changes were already noticeable to Harry.

He had a new bedroom with his own desk and his own wardrobe; not that it really mattered since he didn't have much clothes to put in it. In fact, even with all of Dudley's broken toys scattered around the room it felt like too much space for Harry.

Every morning he woke up expecting to see the spiders hanging from the low ceiling, and every morning he was surprised anew that they were not there. 11 years of living in the cupboard under the stairs made this new reality difficult to adjust to.

There were also changes in the way the Dursleys behaved around him; Harry had changed from being a nuisance to something like a ghost.

Dudley didn't look him in the eyes if he could avoid it; actually, the boy was so scared of Harry that every time he saw him he bolted out of the room looking for his mother. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't shout at him either, not even to force him into doing something. They were terrified of him, and had evidently decided that ignoring him was the best course of action.

Harry had now officially become a piece of furniture in the house. He really didn't mind though, since that was actually an improvement.

'At least I won't be around much longer' Harry thought as he rose from his bed, a smile shining on his face. It was very hard not to be happy when he was counting the days to go to a Wizarding School. Harry wanted to be there already, he was going to learn how to do Magic and hopefully he would make his first friends in the process.

He also was very rich, although the money was not important to him. He'd never had money before, and the thought of his large vault at Gringotts was rather overwhelming.

And then there was the story that Hagrid told him, the one of his parents' death.

He had a loving family once but it was taken from him, deliberately. Harry wanted to understand why, his life could be so different now, but someone choose to change that, leaving him completely alone. The Dursleys didn't count, they never saw him as anything more than a burden; they even hid everything they could from his parents, keeping him in the dark without a single picture or memory from them.

All that Harry had were those awful dreams about a green light and a high cruel laugh, but he wasn't sure if those were real or what they meant.

He shook his head to clear the annoying thoughts, and turned to his new best friend, a beautiful snowy owl. "Hey there, girl," he said softly, smoothing her feathers.

Harry had named her Hedwig; a name he found in the History of Magic book the previous day, it was obvious that the owl liked it.

After putting some open books back in his trunk, Harry decided that he had best start breakfast. The Dursley didn't talk to him, but it was clear that they still expected him to cook breakfast.

Minutes later he was cooking with his thoughts back at Hogwarts, he had a big smile on his face. Harry knew that he had to hide it, since every time Uncle Vernon saw him smiling his thick moustache twisted downwards, and that was not a good sign. The more miserable Harry looked the better.

Then something strange happened, he raised his eyes in the clock's direction and everything in front of him rippled. The clock, the wall, the air, everything. It lasted only a moment that the entire room seemed to shiver with a sense of raw power.

When the movement stopped, the clock showed ten past nine.

Harry's eyes moved to the table. Dudley was looking around very scared and Aunt Petunia was stunned, but Uncle Vernon's eyes were fixed on him with an enraged expression. They had seen it too; it had really happened.

"You better not be doing anything... funny!" Uncle Vernon was fuming as he spat the first words to Harry since his birthday.

"I'm not!" Harry yelled, confused. That seemed to convince his uncle who snorted and turned back to his newspaper, ignoring what happened.

The confusion persisted as he brewed a cup of extra-strong coffee for his uncle, and set out the flowered china on the highly polished table.

Harry was about to serve breakfast when the doorbell rang.

"This is not a time for visits!" Uncle Vernon growled.

"Popkin, could you get that?" Aunt Petunia asked Dudley who agreed grudgingly.

Dudley's chubby body moved all the way to the doorway and Harry heard the sound of the door being opened.

A man's voice then echoed all the way to the kitchen, "Hello young man, you must be Dudley, I am very delighted to meet you. Would it be too much of a trouble if you could lead me to where your cousin is?" the calmed voice asked.

Harry couldn't hear a reply from Dudley, and seconds later the boy stormed into the kitchen with his eyes opened like saucers. Dudley hid behind his mother throwing a frightened look in the door's direction, then he stared at Harry with both of his plump hands over his rear.

The sound of the door closing reached them, and the man walked slowly into the living room where they saw him clearly. When he stopped in front of the dining room Harry could see that he was a tall old man with a huge silver beard that was shining as if it had a light of its own. He had bright blue eyes that he hid behind a pair of half-moon spectacles. That and the long robes he wore told Harry beyond a doubt that he was a wizard, like the ones that Harry had seen in Diagon Alley.

The man was looking around with curiosity, when his eyes met Harry's a little smile appeared on his lips. Harry got the impression that his blue eyes were twinkling.

Uncle Vernon was red in anger and he stood up instantly when he realized that the man was a wizard, "What are you doing in this house!?" he yelled.

"I must say that I am very sorry to have entered your house without a proper invitation, but your son disappeared from the doorway leaving me without an answer." the wizard said without losing the calm of his voice, "I didn't meant to be rude"

"We don't want you or anyone of your- your kind in here!" Uncle Vernon shouted. Harry could see Aunt Petunia and Dudley very worried by his side.

If the man was offended he didn't show it, "It is not my intention to cause any discomfort to you or your lovely family Mr. Dursley, but given that I have a rather urgent matter to discuss with your nephew, I must politely ask for some words with him."

"GET OUT!"

Harry was surprised to see that the man wasn't daunted at all, "Once I have finished my talk with your nephew I can assure you that I will leave, in the meanwhile..."

The mysterious man waved his wand in very weird but elegant way and a chocolate cake appeared on the table out of nowhere. "I apologize for my rudeness, I haven't introduced myself yet, but I hope that you can forgive me and accept this small treat." he was looking at the table with a small grin, "My name is Albus Dumbledore." he said.

His announcement was greeted by deafening silence. Uncle Vernon was still muttering angrily under his moustache, while Aunt Petunia stared at the man as though she had seen a ghost. Dudley was cowering the corner, eyes squeezed shut as though that would make the strange man leave.

Harry's green eyes widened when he registered that name. Albus Dumbledore, his new headmaster, the greatest wizard of whom Hagrid had spoken so many wonders, was standing in the living room with the Dursleys. Harry got an instant awkward sensation, as if he was looking at two things that didn't mix.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Harry finally asked in a nervous voice. The news of attending Hogwarts had been wonderful so the idea of Professor Dumbledore being there to meet him was unsettling. He could almost hear the man saying that it was a shame but that he couldn't go to Hogwarts because they made a mistake and Harry was not magical at all.

Professor Dumbledore took a moment to answer, "I hope not my boy, but we do need to talk to find out what is happening." he said with a serious tone. Harry was terrified by this point, he had been preparing himself, he even started reading the books, and now Dumbledore was going to take everything away.

Uncle Vernon finally exploded, "I SAID THAT-"

He couldn't finish because a thud was heard as he was forced to sit down on his chair, a piece of cake flew across the table and landed softly on a plate in front of him, his eyes were fully opened. Harry distinguished the looks of horror on Aunt Petunia's and Dudley's faces, if he wasn't so worried about his future at Hogwarts he would have laughed. Albus Dumbledore's wand was slightly raised.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," said the old man as he turned to look at Harry, who was already near him, "Now, where were we?" Harry was caught by surprise when he found an almost amused Dumbledore looking at him, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, there was something that you wanted to talk to me about...? something important... sir?"

The man's lips formed a smile, but something told Harry that the headmaster was worried or concerned.

"Important indeed." said Albus Dumbledore. He moved his eyes back to where the Dursleys were and Dudley jumped on his place, "I only need a few private moments with Harry; it won't take long."

Harry saw how his uncle recovered from his previous shock and a crimson red began to cover his face, that could only mean that he was about to explode. Then, the weirdest thing happened.

"Vernon, let him talk to the boy." Aunt Petunia said with a slight tremble in her voice.

All the red washed away from Vernon Dursley's face immediately, "But Petunia, dearest-"

"Inside the house." she ordered with a stronger tone this time.

Uncle Vernon started mumbling a lot of things, but none of them made sense. Aunt Petunia must have noticed that he was about to reply, because she glared at him as Harry hadn't seen her do it before and that closed Uncle Vernon's mouth definitely. Harry nodded.

As Harry followed his headmaster into the living room, the feeling that everything was going to end for him reappeared. He couldn't believe how short his joy had lasted.

When they reached the hallway, the wizard raised his wand in the living room's direction, "Harry, I am going to ask you something of the utmost importance and I need you to answer only with the truth. Would you be willing to do it?" he asked, his eyes reflecting how serious the situation was.

Harry nodded shyly, his heart beating very fast. He kept feeling that he was being accused of something. "Eh... sir" he mumbled, looking in the living room's direction.

"Don't worry, we won't be interrupted. Nobody will be able to listen to our conversation."

Harry raised an eyebrow clearly doubting that since it was really a short distance to his uncle's ears, but he didn't object.

"Harry, do you feel that this is your home?"

The question sounded very odd, but he nodded.

Albus Dumbledore made a short pause, "Have you expressed yourself as if this house was not your home anymore? Today perhaps?"

Harry saw the seriousness on his face, so he decided to think about it for a few moments. After a brief pause, he shook his head.

"Are you completely sure of this?"

He nodded.

The headmaster remained silent, analysing Harry until he decided that the boy was telling the truth. "Well, then we really have a mystery in our hands." he said leaving Harry completely puzzled.

"Sir, I don't understand."

Albus Dumbledore seemed to be in deep thought; he answered Harry's doubts looking at the distance as if he was thinking out loud, "There was a protection around this house that I placed many years ago, to keep you safe. It just vanished moments ago."

"Protection? For me?!" Harry asked, putting a finger incredulously over his chest.

"Of course my boy, we needed to be sure that you were secure. What you did the day that your parents died was not something that pleased everybody."

Harry's eyes grew bigger, "But I don't know what I did!"

"Neither does the rest of the world, but you still did it." the man said.

Harry was confused. Why would he need protection if the evil wizard, this... Voldemort, was dead?

'Hagrid didn't believe that', he reminded himself.

Harry stood quietly looking at the floor for some time, Professor Dumbledore never seemed like he wanted to interrupt him, after a while something came back to him.

"Eh... sir?" The headmaster nodded slowly trying to encourage him to continue, "Before you came I saw something, it's probably nothing..."

"What was it?"

"It was like everything trembled, the air seemed to be waving but it was very quick." he finished looking at Dumbledore, waiting for an answer.

"That's understandable, the protection wards must have fallen at that moment." Dumbledore had his right hand placed on his chin, and Harry could almost see his thoughts racing.

"Oh," Harry said pausing just briefly, "that's why you are here."

Albus Dumbledore nodded.

Harry was suddenly relieved, but he needed to be sure, "So, am I still allowed to go to Hogwarts this year?... sir?" he asked with a hopeful smile.

The moments before he got an answer were the slowest of his life.

The man was surprised by the question, but he soon understood the thought that was troubling Harry, "Well of course my boy, everything is ready for your arrival" he answered with a warm smile.

Harry sighed, but later he remembered something and frowned thinking deeply, "Then, am I in danger?"

The headmaster's expression sobered, "I am curious, what makes you say that?"

"The protection, and you came very fast... is somebody trying to- attack me?" Harry's eyes didn't reflect fear but confusion.

"I am not aware of any attempt so far my boy, I don't want you to be alarmed. The wards around this house were only a precaution."

"But you are here."

"Those wards had been working perfectly for almost ten years, and they fell for no reason. I was worried, but as you can see everything is alright. No one tried to harm you; all of this is only a big mystery that needs to be solved." Dumbledore answered.

Now Harry was completely shocked. Here was this incredible wizard saying that he had come all the way to the Dursleys' only because he thought that Harry was in danger. He didn't know very much about Hogwarts, but he was sure that it had a lot of students and he did not feel that important to deserve a visit from the headmaster just to check on him. Did all the students have that kind of protection?

"I-" he started but whatever he was trying to say it was lost when a big gray owl crossed the hall to land on the stairway. That owl handed him an envelope with a weird logo on the front.

Harry turned to look at Professor Dumbledore, and he discovered a slight surprise on the man's face. It was not a good surprise, it was more like a small concern. The headmaster gave a slow nod, and Harry opened the letter.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_It has been brought to our attention that you got married this morning at ten minutes past nine._

_This is usually a formality to send you our dearest congratulations, however, we also seemed to notice that you are currently eleven years of age. The Ministry is puzzled as to how this Marriage has taken place, and found its way into our records as a legally authorized bond. As per the Wizengamot guidelines, the minimum age of consent for marriage is fourteen years, which is also the age at which marriage spells can be placed upon the involved persons._

_We at the Ministry are thrilled to know how this happened, and so, we request your presence for a clarification hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9:00 a.m. on the fifth of August._

_Enjoy your holidays and congratulations to you and your new wife!_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Magiries Droverson_

_WIZARDRY REGISTERS AND BONDS OFFICE_

Harry's eyes grew big as did his mouth. He didn't fully understand all of that, but the parts that he did almost knocked him to the floor.

"Sir... I-I-... how?" he managed to say.

Albus Dumbledore looked puzzled, but before Harry could show him the piece of paper another owl fluttered into the hallway with a different letter, this one for the headmaster. The old wizard raised an eyebrow and took the letter out of the envelope very slowly. Harry saw the wizard's blue eyes moving fast across the paper, from time to time his sight left the letter to stare at Harry, just to return to his reading again. By the time he finished, his eyebrows were near the top of his head.

"Harry, I want you to go upstairs and get all of your things. We are leaving."

He was stunned. Leaving the Dursleys? With all of his things? He didn't know where he was going but this seemed like a dream come true.

"Where are we going? What is happening? The letter said that-"

Dumbledore raised a hand to stop him, "This house is not safe for you anymore"

"Then where...?"

"I don't know, but there's a place where I think we can find answers." the man said looking once again at his letter.

Harry nodded and he rushed upstairs, but at the second step he froze. He turned to look at Dumbledore, "Am I going to return here again?" he asked, not that he wasn't prepared to leave the Dursleys, but it felt weird, this was all the life he knew.

"I can not tell that for sure, but we should keep our hopes up. Now hurry up boy, time is gold. I'll talk to your uncle and aunt."

He nodded and rushed to his bedroom.

All the time it took him to pack his things Harry couldn't stop thinking on what was going to happen to him. His entire life he had hated the way that Uncle Vernon treated him, he had imagined himself being found by a missing relative and being taken away from that awful place, now he didn't know what to think. Where was he going to go? Why it was suddenly unsafe for him to live with the Dursleys?

Then there was the letter, everything that was in there was undoubtedly a mistake. He had no friends, and the only one he knew on the Magical World was Hagrid. How could he be married? It was not possible, he didn't know anyone who could be married to him.

When he entered the living room Professor Dumbledore was already waiting for him, Uncle Vernon seemed beyond happiness.

"So, you say he is not coming back?" he asked with excitement on his face.

"We don't know yet but, if it is possible, we'll find a way to bring him back after the school year."

Uncle Vernon made a hand gesture as if he didn't want to believe that, "Surely he could be better with your kind of people"

"It is not time to discuss that," Dumbledore answered sharply and he turned to look at Harry, "My boy, I believe that we should go now. You can say your goodbyes, either way you can come back in another opportunity, so it is surely not definite."

Harry nodded, "Err... bye" he addressed the three of them at once, he couldn't think of anything else to say.

A snort was the only reaction from Harry's uncle and it actually was the warmest. Aunt Petunia limited herself to look away while Dudley tried his best to remain hidden behind his mother.

'That went well.' Harry thought as he followed the headmaster out of the living room.

Then, in front of his eyes, Professor Dumbledore raised his wand and Harry's trunk disappeared in a glimpse, Hedwig included.

"How...? Where did they go?" Harry clearly surprised.

"Your trunk and that lovely owl of yours are already waiting for us," Harry was clearly confused but Professor Dumbledore continued his way towards the exit, "Come on, we're already late."

Uncle Vernon grumbled about them walking out of the house, letting all the neighbours see them. Harry had to admit that it did look weird considering the robes that Professor Dumbledore was wearing.

Harry allowed himself one last look at the house that saw him grow, unable to decide what he was feeling.

"Eh excuse me sir, where are we going?" he asked once they were a couple of houses away.

"To get some answers"

Harry remained silent, waiting for an explanation, but Dumbledore didn't say anything more about it. Soon they reached an alley, and oddly enough they got inside.

"Are we looking for something in here?"

"No Harry, but we need a place where nobody can see us disappear."

Harry's eyes popped open "Disappear? Like the trunk?" he asked with a scared look.

"Since this is your first time with Side-Along-Apparition it might be an unpleasant sensation, but it is our only option with our current schedule." He extended one arm to him, "Hold it and do not let go."

Harry raised an eyebrow, but he did as he was told. Whatever he was expecting of that it was surely not what happened. He felt Dumbledore's arm twist away from him so he quickly tried to tighten his grip; the world was black and he was being squeezed out of it, then, when he got the feeling that he would not be able to breathe anymore, everything changed.

They were suddenly standing in a country lane looking ahead to the crooked silhouette of a very weird building, no other houses in sight. His mouth fell open, "How did we…?"

"Apparition, one of the fastest ways of transportation, but not the most delightful I'm afraid."

Harry couldn't register the words entirely, since he was still trying to put some air in his lungs.

"The Burrow," Dumbledore continued, dragging his attention to the weird building, "The Weasleys' home, Arthur and Molly that is. Hope that they don't mind an early visit."

When Harry heard that the building was actually someone's home he decided to pay more attention to it. He saw at least four chimneys on the house across its five or six floors, which were leaning dangerously. The construction was crazy and Harry couldn't believe why it didn't fall apart.

"The Weasleys are a wizarding family, one of the oldest." Dumbledore said as they approached the house, "They don't know a few things about the Muggle world, but they try to keep themselves updated. Don't be surprised if they find something you say weird or unusual."

"And how is that they have answers?" Harry asked.

Albus Dumbledore twisted his mouth a bit, "I think that here we can find more letters like the one you received."

Harry didn't know how Dumbledore could know that. For a moment, thoughts of the headmaster working for the magical post office crossed his mind, but he dismissed it as soon as he imagined the old man with a post office cap.

Before he could ask anything more they reached the front door and Professor Dumbledore knocked. Harry's trunk and Hedwig were waiting for them next to the door.

Quickly, the door opened, and a thin man appeared in front of them. He was balding, but the hair he had left was of a very bright tone of red. The man looked at Dumbledore with a surprised expression, "Albus! how a..." at that moment his eyes landed on Harry and on his forehead, his surprise was even bigger, "Is this who I think it is?"

"Harry Potter, yes Arthur he is. Harry, this is Arthur Weasley"

"Nice to meet you sir," Harry said noticing that the man was analysing him with a concerned look.

"Nice to meet you too Harry." Mr. Weasley answered before turning to face Dumbledore, puzzlement written across his face.

"Arthur, we are sorry to disturb your family so early, but this young man received a letter not a long time ago and I have reasons to believe that you may know something about it." Dumbledore said.

Mr. Weasley nodded slowly, "Come on in, they are in the living room." he said letting them inside the house.

"Is it too much of a problem if Harry leaves his trunk inside your house? We haven't resolved his new accommodations yet."

Mr. Weasley seemed thrilled by that, but he answered promptly, "Of course not, make yourself at home Harry." he said.

"Thanks Mr. Weasley," Harry said at the same time that Dumbledore levitated his trunk inside the house.

The moment they entered the living room, Harry was surprised by a great number of people. It appeared like they were discussing something just moments ago, and stopped suddenly when Harry arrived.

The only adult in the group was a plump woman who was standing in the middle of the room with an unreadable look, surely Mrs. Weasley. She was surrounded by a lot of kids, almost all of them were redheads.

All the attention was set on him, which wouldn't have surprised Harry based on the reactions he received at Diagon Alley, but now he was standing next to Albus Dumbledore. Harry didn't know much about him, but it was obvious that the old wizard was more worthy of attention.

"Dad?" one boy asked then, clearly intrigued. Harry, who was still standing in his place, didn't even register his words. The boy's appearance was enough to shock him.

That boy was him; no glasses, no scar, and maybe a few years younger, but exactly him. Even his eyes were the same shade of green than Harry's. It was unreal.

A quick but loud squeal came at that moment, and Harry shifted his attention to the source of the sound, a girl with flaming red hair. The girl soon noticed Harry looking in her direction, and she blushed furiously, hiding her face behind Mrs. Weasley.

Before someone could explain what was going on to Harry, another girl moved to the front to take a better look at him. This girl was a redhead too, and, if Harry hadn't seen her coming from the opposite side of the room, he would have swore that she was the same girl from before.

"But... he is just a boy." the little girl said incredulously, looking at an older boy with untidy black hair, just like Harry's.

The girl who spoke was not blushing, and Harry noticed that she was younger than the first one too, which made it clear that they were not twins.

"All of them are younger! It is him." the addressed boy answered. He looked a lot like Harry too, but unlike the first boy his eyes were not green.

The little girl's sight travelled back to Harry, analysing him in detail, and then her brown eyes opened at once.

What came next was probably one of the things that Harry least expected. That girl rushed all the way to where Harry was and threw herself at him on a very tight hug. Harry wasn't used to hugs, and much less to that kind of gushy hugs, so he stood there open-mouthed.

"I was afraid! James said that we were going to be all right, but I didn't know that! I missed you!" the girl said.

Harry didn't have a single clue of what was happening. He was still trying to assimilate the whole Magic thing and now everything was crazy; leaving the Dursleys, the letter that said that he was married, Professor Dumbledore's concerns about his safety and finally a girl who he didn't know who acted as if they were very close.

"I- Who's James? Who are you?" Harry asked her.

The girl separated from him with tears in her eyes; she looked very hurt.

All around the reactions were obvious. Some kids were looking confused, especially a young redheaded boy who was pulling from the sleeve of a girl, the girl was also a redhead and her hair was long and bushy. Some other kids were whispering things at each other, some of them grinning.

"I believe I have a guess of what is happening here." Professor Dumbledore said looking at a small table where a golden thing was shining. "This is quite unusual, to say the least"

"Tell us then! Ron and Ginny received these today and we don't know what's going on." Mrs. Weasley demanded, waving a piece of paper. Harry distinguished the same logo that was on the letter that he received earlier. "It is a mistake!" the woman said.

"Molly dear! Please, try to calm down, I'm sure all of this has an explanation." Mr. Weasley said, running his hand through his thinning hair.

Albus Dumbledore readjusted his spectacles, giving one more glance to that golden thing, "It does, although I'm afraid that it's not an easy one. We'll get to that, but first, this is Harry." the headmaster announced putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Gasps and whispers were heard, but after some looks from Mrs. Weasley a few redheaded boys came close to Harry and started greeting him from afar.

"It is him then," said one of the boys, "Imagined him… well, you know… more hero-like?"

Mrs. Weasley turned to glare at the boy, as a warning. Right afterwards, her attention moved back to Harry. "Nice to meet you Harry." she said, her expression serious.

"Harry, these are the Weasleys, you already met Arthur and this is his lovely wife Molly. These are their children, except for some unfamiliar faces of course," Dumbledore was looking at some of the kids as he said that, "Now who is James?" his blue eyes moved between the boys that looked a lot like Harry.

"I am" the oldest boy-James answered.

A light smile appeared on the headmaster's lips, "What year do you come from, my boy?"

"Year?" Harry asked to him confused.

"2015." James said, ignoring Harry's question.

Harry gaped, "Th-That's not possible..."

"It is," Dumbledore assured him, "These children are from the future, and I know that because of the hourglass on that table and this." he said taking out the letter that he received at the Dursleys.

Harry's eyes travelled to the small table where the golden thing was, "What's that?"

"That's a time turner." the oldest redhead boy said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "And what is a time turner?"

The same boy opened his mouth, but it was Albus Dumbledore who answered Harry's question.

"You must have realized that there are many things that you don't know about the Wizarding World, Harry, much more than you can imagine." Dumbledore said calmly, "A time turner is an impressive device that allows time travel, but only for a few hours. Now, how did this particular item allowed these children to travel this far, that's the real question."

"We already talked to them Albus, it was an accident. They said it is a special device created by the mother of two of them, Rose and Hugo." Mr. Weasley added pointing at two kids, the redheaded boy and the bushy haired girl whom Harry had noticed earlier.

"I must say that you have a very clever mother. I wouldn't have been able to do something like this myself." Dumbledore acknowledged looking at the two kids.

"Thanks" said Rose with a wide smile.

Hugo was nodding happily, "She is the smartest witch there is. Dad says so"

The young girl next to Harry agreed beaming.

At that moment, Harry distinguished that not far away a boy almost identical to Hugo was standing with his eyes wide opened. The boy was a bit older and he had blushed a lot at Hugo's words.

"But none if this is possible," Harry insisted, doubting the whole thing, "That's-"

"Magic?" a different redheaded boy interrupted Harry.

"Humm.. where have I heard that?" another boy, who was identical to the first one said, scratching his chin.

Harry couldn't believe how many identical persons existed in the house, but at least these boys looked the same age and that made it very possible that they were twins. Of Magic and time travels Harry didn't know much, but twins was something that he could understand.

If he hadn't heard about the time travel, Harry would have surely thought that all the others were just siblings who really looked a lot like one another.

"Albus, what about that letter?" Mr. Weasley tried to return to the conversation.

"Well, Arthur, I believe that this piece of paper summarizes all of the letters that you have received today." Professor Dumbledore explained, "Here they are asking for my presence at the emergency audiences occurring next Monday. The one at 9:00 am involving Harry and Mrs. Potter here, and also the one at 9:30 am involving Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."

Another squeal was heard from the first redheaded girl who was now blushing again.

"Potter?!" Harry asked dumbfounded. He noticed some weird looks around the room, except from the boy who looked like Hugo who was completely pale.

"That's right Harry"

"But my mother is dead." Harry said, and many faces turned grim.

"Yes she is, and I must say that it was a terrible loss for the entire Wizarding World," Professor Dumbledore said and Harry noticed sadness on his blue eyes, "The letter is not talking about your mother though."

"You said Mrs. Potter, and I thought that I was the only Potter left. Who are you talking about then?"

"Mum." James said vaguely as if that could clarify everything up instantly. The kids from the future all nodded as though it made perfect sense.

Harry stared at James, trying to decide if they could be related, "Who's your mother?" he asked.

The girl who was still by his side, the one who hugged him, looked confused and threw him a glare that made Harry feel like he had asked something very rude.

It was then that the first boy, the one who looked the most like Harry, caught everyone's attention. "She is." he said as he pointed at the first redhead girl, who was still blushing behind Mrs. Weasley. When the girl saw the boy pointing at her, she opened her brown eyes like saucers and blushed even redder.

Harry stared at her, but he was confused. James could be related to him, but this girl was a completely different thing. Actually, Harry had initially thought that she was a Weasley too.

Mrs. Weasley faced Dumbledore, "Albus, I hope that all of this is-" she stopped because the professor raised his hand in her direction clearly wanting to speak.

"I'll get to that Molly, I promise."

"Let him continue, dear." Mr. Weasley said. He was now standing close to his wife, so he put a soothing hand on her shoulder. Mrs. Weasley nodded, but Harry could tell that she was very affected.

When Albus Dumbledore noticed that Harry was completely lost, he continued, "Harry, I know that this is going to be very difficult to believe, and because of that I need you to listen to me carefully."

Harry nodded.

"You already know that these kids are from the future, but you don't know who they are," he started turning to look to Mr. Weasley, "Arthur, I believe that you already know that."

"We all do, Albus," he said that referring to everyone except for Harry, "It was very hard to believe but the time turner is there and... well, look at them." he finished.

"I still think that a time turner cannot go that far," the oldest redheaded boy retorted, crossing his arms.

"Percy, let the professor finish." Mr. Weasley reprimanded him. The twins stuck their tongues out at him and Percy snorted.

The headmaster returned his attention to Harry, "These kids are not just from the future, but they are from your future. They are your children, your nephew and your niece if I had followed this correctly"

Saying that Harry was surprised would be the greatest understatement ever made. He locked his eyes on the kids, unable to process what was happening. And yet, even when it was completely out of this world, some part of him started to understand some things; the boy that looked exactly like him and the girl who had hugged him made sense now.

"That one over there is James, and it is very clear that he is a Potter because he is the living image of your father." At that something else clicked in Harry's head; his father's name had been James.

Harry didn't know how his father was supposed to look though, as he didn't have any pictures of him. By that point, he couldn't take his eyes apart from the boy who was supposed to be his future son. James was grinning at him.

"I think that it is not hard to notice that you have another son in this room," Dumbledore continued with his blue eyes on the boy who looked so much like Harry, "I don't believe you've told us your name my boy."

"My name is Al, Albus sir." the boy said and that caused an instant smile to appear on the man's lips. A few surprised gasps were heard across the room.

"I must say, I am incredibly honoured that you decided to name your son after me, Harry," the Headmaster said, his twinkling eyes resting on the confused boy.

Harry was quite surprised; if he did that then that would mean that he and the headmaster were very close in the future, and that seemed quite odd. How could a great wizard like Albus Dumbledore have that kind of relationship with him... a boy that didn't know anything about Magic? Maybe the man was Harry's hero in the future and that was the reason of the boy's name.

He wanted to say something as 'It's ok,' but everything was too much for Harry, he barely managed to give him a shy nod while he stared at Al.

Harry thought that it was good having children in the future since that meant that he finally got a family of his own, but they didn't belong in this time. Maybe his older self was already missing them. They needed to send them back and, to be honest, he was only eleven and their presence was unsettling Harry a lot.

"I believe that you also have a daughter right there"

The little girl who had hugged Harry nodded with a big smile. Harry couldn't find many similarities between her and her brothers, maybe some minor details with James.

"And what would your name be Miss Potter?" the headmaster asked causing some awkwardness in Harry at the mention of Potter.

"Lily," she said with a bright smile. Lily, like Harry's mother.

"Lovely name, now Harry I believe that you already noticed Rose and Hugo. They should be your niece and nephew, Mr. Weasley's children I presume." he said looking at the older version of Hugo.

"Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked surprised. Lily was now closer to him, even when it was obvious that she still didn't fully understand what was happening.

"He is referring to Ron." Mr. Weasley addressed Harry pointing at the boy that looked so much like Hugo.

The headmaster nodded. Ron was standing completely pale, if this was true then it wasn't strange for Harry to guess what was the boy feeling.

"Come on Ickle Ronnie, it's not that bad," said one of the twins, pushing him with the elbow.

"Niece and nephew? But how...?" Harry asked, trying to register everything said in the last minute. He couldn't understand how the children of a boy he just met could be related to him.

"He is not very bright," said the other twin talking back to his brother. "still we need to talk to him about the situation"

"It appears so," answered the first twin nodding.

"FRED! GEORGE! You leave that boy alone, he doesn't even know what is happening." Mrs. Weasley yelled at them. Harry was very confused, but he managed to distinguish a nasty glare that the redhead girl was sending at the twins. The girl really looked a lot like Lily, flaming red mane and everything.

"Harry my boy, why do you think that we found your children in this place?"

"I... do they...?" Harry tried to find a reason to explain that piece of information, "I don't know" he completed soon enough, releasing a defeated sigh.

"They came here because they know this house much more than they know Privet Drive; this is their grandparents' house" the headmaster said deliberately.

Harry's eyes travelled to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who seemed rather nervous. He turned his face to James, trying to find an explanation: the boy seemed to be amused.

"Harry, this is the current home of your children's mother, Mrs. Potter," Professor Dumbledore said.

The boy's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Mrs. Potter. Harry turned to look at the little girl whose face was nearly as red as her hair.

Everything clicked on Harry's mind; Al calling her Mrs. Potter, her resemblance to Lily, her Weasley appearance, and his children being Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's grandchildren. How could he not noticed that before?

Harry continued to stare at the girl so deeply that it appeared like he was trying to see through her hands. Somehow, that little shy girl was his future wife, his future family. Harry turned red himself.

"Are you staring at our sister?" one of the twins said.

"Eh? NO!" Harry said blushing even more and turning quickly away, uncertain of where to put his eyes.

"FRED!" Mrs Weasley yelled.

Harry didn't know anything about this girl; he had never been close to anyone on his life and it was crazy how close this girl really was to him.

"Wha-What's your name?" he asked on a quiet voice. He needed a name.

The girl let out a little squeak and peeked out from behind her hands for a moment before hiding her face again. All the sounds that came out of her where low mumbles.

"Come on Gin-Gin, he doesn't bite," one of the twins, possibly Fred, teased.

"Do you?" the other one addressed Harry. He was surprised by the question but he didn't have time to answer.

"Stop it you two!" Mrs. Weasley said and then she turned to Harry, a fond smile crossing her face. "She is a little a shy, her name is Ginny."

Harry nodded because he didn't know what else to do, he wasn't sure if the Weasleys were mad at him. For Harry it was hard to tell, but from the distance it appeared as if Ginny jumped on her place at the mention of her name.

"She's not like that with everybody else." Ron blurted, earning a deathly glare from both Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

"We'll see how shy your wife is Ickle Ronnie." Fred - or George - said smirking.

Ron blushed furiously at the comment, and locked his blue eyes on the floor. Rose chuckled.

"All right, now that Harry has been informed about the identities of these children, I think that we need to address our most urgent matter. The hearings."

"But you haven't said anything about the letters! " Mrs. Weasley yelled waving the paper, "There is a mistake and we need to fix it!"

Dumbledore's face turned serious, "I don't think that there is a mistake"

"WHAT!? How can you say that? They cannot be married! Ginny is ten! There's no spell that can do that at their age!"

"You are right, there is no such spell, but I'm afraid that this was not done with a spell," Dumbledore stopped briefly turning his blue eyes to the small table where the golden hourglass rested, "My theory is that the records were changed because of the presence of the kids at this time."

"That's impossible! I can accept that they marry in the future, if they choose to, but... but not now!"

"We cannot be sure of what is impossible in this case, we have never experienced this situation before. No time turner ever got this far back"

There was a silence in the room. Al and Rose looked at each other, apparently conflicted.

"So they are really married?! That's... unbelievable" Percy seemed to have struggled to find a substitute to 'impossible' at the end of his sentence.

"Indeed, but it is the truth. If something like this was sent to us, then they must be really sure of it at the Ministry." Professor Dumbledore said holding his own letter. "I believe that the mere existence of the children in this time forced the marriage bond between their parents. In other words, the bond travelled with them."

Harry still couldn't find the words to say. He was really married? To Ginny? It didn't seem like something that could be real, he hadn't even heard her voice yet, aside from her squeaks. He was eleven years old, they surely had laws or something to avoid things like that from happening to kids... right?

Mr. Weasley was trying to get a hold of his wife, who seemed about to fall, "Albus, can we explain this at the Ministry? Put everything back as it was before?"

Dumbledore let out a sigh, all eyes set on him. "I don't know anything about this time turner, but right now I don't have the power to send them back to their time. I am not even sure if I will ever be able to do it." The adults looked grim, but James, Al and Rose looked terrified, "About the hearing, I think that we don't have any other way to go. We need to say the truth; we can even take the children there as proof of what we say. They would find about them either way, better do it on our own terms."

"What about the records? The marriage?" Mr. Weasley insisted.

"If the records have indeed been modified then nothing can be done; your daughter will be Ginevra Potter from now on."

Mrs. Weasley sat down suddenly on the couch. Harry was shocked; he was married forever at the age of eleven.

Harry was shocked, he was married, forever. He didn't want to, this life was too crazy.

Most of the Weasleys were now focused on the woman on the couch, but Harry managed to get a glimpse of Ginny. The redheaded girl was looking at the headmaster with her eyes wide opened, unable to register what he just said.

On one side of the room, Rose seemed to be reproaching James. Harry was only able to distinguish a few words here and there, "... your fault!... you always ruin everything!... Ministry…"

Al was close to them, explaining something to a clueless Hugo, while Lily hung onto his arm, eyes wide.

It took several minutes for everything to calm down, and soon almost everyone was sitting peacefully together. Mr. Weasley even convinced Rose and James to stop arguing.

Harry went to stand next to Al and Lily. He had a lot of things to ask about his future self but the shock was still pretty overwhelming, so his eyes were fixed on the floor. Lily didn't seem to care since she was leaning against him, giving Harry an awkward sensation.

"There has to be something that we can do." Mr. Weasley finally said once that his wife was fully recovered.

"I was planning on going to the Ministry to verify the records and inform myself for Monday's hearing, you can join me if you wish."

Mr. Weasley turned to look at his wife, like trying to decide if he could leave her alone, but she answered for him, "Go! I'll be fine." she said. Her husband nodded.

"All right then, there is nothing more to say about that," Dumbledore said and turned to look at Harry, "Harry?"

"Yes, sir?" he asked startled.

"We still need to find accommodations for you. And please call me professor." he said with a smile.

"Yes professor." Harry stood up ready to get his trunk, all of his worries about where he was going to live now came back to him. Did they have wizarding orphanages?

"Accommodations?" Mr. Weasley asked, "I thought that he lived with his Muggle relatives?"

"He used to, but the wards around that house fell today at 9:10; we don't need to be very bright to assume that this whole situation has affected the spell. I need to find a provisional place for him and put some wards on it."

"That's nonsense! He can stay here! He is family after all." said Mrs. Weasley even though she seemed to be struggling with that last part.

Harry was utterly surprised, she was hearing that a boy that she barely knew was married to her daughter, and still she wanted him to be with them.

"I don't want to cause any trouble" Harry said a little embarrassed. He wasn't sure that there was enough space for him. The house had many floors, but the Weasleys had a lot of children and now five grand-kids had arrived. Harry didn't know how all of them could fit in there.

"It is all right Harry, we would be glad to have you here." Mrs. Weasley said forcing a smile, Mr. Weasley nodded at Harry encouragingly. The boy turned to look at Dumbledore, but the headmaster didn't seem to react at that.

Harry started to receive a lot of encouraging words, especially from the twins and Ron who wanted him to stay with them. The twins even called him brother-in-law which surprised him, and made Mrs. Weasley frown. What really convinced Harry was actually Lily, who was asking him why he wanted to go. The girl looked worried and that made Harry feel uneasy.

"I can pay for my food." Harry finally said.

"There's no need for that dear," Mrs. Weasley said, "Now, have you had breakfast already?"

Harry shook his head and Mrs. Weasley stood up ready to take everyone to the table. Harry was already feeling like he was causing too much trouble.

"What kind of wards are you talking about Albus? Is Harry in danger?" asked Mr. Weasley and a few faces straightened.

"No, of course not. Not that I am aware of. The wards would only be a precaution; he is Harry Potter after all"

For a moment, Harry thought that the Weasleys were not going to want him there anymore, but Mrs. Weasley insisted in him staying. It really surprised Harry.

"Well it's settled then," Professor Dumbledore spoke letting a huge smile show, "I personally don't think that I could have found a better place for him than this one."

Professor Dumbledore moved slightly away from Harry, "We have to go now, I'll return tomorrow to have a talk about the hearing and the children." he announced.

"Do you want something to eat? Something quick?"

"It is a shame Molly, but I think that the only thing that I need right now is time." he said and he started walking towards the door followed by Mr. Weasley. Halfway there, the headmaster turned his head facing Ron, "Mr. Weasley it would be best if you could be prepared for when your father comes for you."

"For me?!" Ron asked on a loud voice as his eyebrows shot all the way up to his forehead. Mr. Weasley turned to the headmaster in surprise.

"What is this about Albus?" he asked.

"Once we finish our business at the Ministry, we will need to handle another urgent situation." he said facing Mr. Weasley, "There's a girl in London who has a letter not very different from the one addressed to your daughter, but with no explanation."

"Oh I see," Mr. Weasley said very serious, "Ron I'll be back, you need to be there."

Ron paled as his mouth fell open, but he couldn't form any words. His blue eyes moved around the room trying to find someone to help him, but all what he got were some mischievous grins from the twins.

Harry was relieved that he didn't have to go through that, he kind of did already without knowing and that turned out well, at least the Weasleys didn't blame him.

"Maybe Miss and Mr. Weasley could join us," Dumbledore said addressing Rose and Hugo who nodded, "We need all the help we can get in order to convince them."

"The whole Mr, Mrs and Miss Weasley is going to turn very confusing, very soon." one of the twins said.

"Well not Miss Weasley, there will be only one of those now." his brother answered, looking at Ginny.

The girl turned to look at Harry, and when she found his green eyes she blushed and looked away, her eyes were still big and fixed on her shoes.

"But Professor," Percy interrupted, "you can just show them the time turner and then-" he stopped as soon as he saw Rose shaking her head quickly from side to side.

"I believe that it won't be that easy" Professor Dumbledore answered.

"Why not? I know that they only go back for a few hours now, but if you could explain them that-"

"That won't work. Mum is a Muggleborn" Rose said causing many reactions all around the room.

Mrs. Weasley moved her hand to her chest, "Oh my, poor child, this is going to be very hard for her." she said.

"We need to tell her, the Ministry will be expecting her on Monday." Mr. Weasley said.

A brief silence took place, but it was soon interrupted.

"Although this is a delightful conversation, I must insist that we leave, as we are already late. Arthur?" Professor Dumbledore said facing the red haired man.

"You are right, I'll be back for Ron and hopefully I'll bring good news," he said, then he turned to Harry, "Harry please make yourself at home."

"Thank you Mr. Weasley" Harry answered.

After that both men left and Harry stood there facing everybody, feeling uncomfortable. There were a lot of eyes on him.

"All right we will have to wait for news, in the meanwhile everyone to the table. I won't let my grandchildren stay hungry much longer." Mrs. Weasley headed out of the living room.

"Yay!" some cheers were heard, especially from the younger kids.

Once at the table the mood lightened up. The Weasleys were a very joyful family and after assimilating the events from moments before, they decided to enjoy the presence of the time travellers, especially Fred and George who seemed willing to listen to all the details about James' feat of bringing them almost 25 years back in time. Rose snorted.

That was when Harry felt a huge guilt fall on him because he discovered that everything was his fault, or his future self's fault which was basically the same thing. Apparently, he had left the weird golden thing all alone on his desk inside his unlocked office.

Harry continued eating as he felt all the remorse of being such a lousy father, even though no one else seemed to blame him. Mrs. Weasley kept throwing food at him together with comments of how skinny he was. Harry had never eaten so much in his entire life.

From time to time, he turned to look at Ginny, who was sitting next to him because Lily dragged both of them together to the table. Harry had turned red then, but Ginny's colour didn't fade during the entire breakfast, and her eyes never left her plate.

Harry didn't know what to feel about her, he only wished that she could say something to him. Instead, the girl blushed every time that he asked her to pass something over the table. Percy's eyes were constantly fixed on them.

Ron sat across from Harry, staring into his space and picking at his food.

"Can't wait to see Mum," Rose suddenly said, "Wonder how she looks. We have pictures but it's not the same!" she said to no-one in particular.

That brought Ron back to life, "She is not going to be mad at me or something, right?" he asked his daughter nervously.

All of the future kids were smirking, but one of the twins talked first, "Oh... is Ickle little Ronnie scared?" Ron didn't even turn his face; he was still waiting for an answer.

"You'll be fine." Rose said, but the way she tried to contain a laugh made Harry think that she may not have been entirely truthful. Ron didn't seem to notice and he just let out a relieved sigh.

There, eating breakfast with the Weasleys and his future children Harry didn't know what was going to happen next, but at least he got the feeling that he was at the right place and with the right people.

They were just finishing breakfast when they heard the main door open. The colour on Ron's face disappeared almost entirely, and he looked around, as though trying to find a place to hide.


	3. A Redhead Future

**Thanks again to Jetsun1119 for the help reviewing this chap :)**

* * *

**HERMIONE**

It was early on the day at the Grangers' house when a hooting noise disrupted the silence at one of its bedrooms, the house only had two, but those were more than enough for a family as small as the Grangers were. Hermione Granger was at her desk, reading one of the many books her parents had bought for her in her eleven years of life. She was a voracious reader, and devoured any book that she could get her hands on.

This book, however, was different from most of the books on her shelf. It was thicker yet lighter, and the woman on the front cover continually winked and waved. It was a magical book called _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_, one of her course books for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was so absorbed in it that she didn't even hear the owl arrive.

It took the owl rapping smartly on the window for her to even raise her eyes. At the sudden sound, the girl raised her head with curiosity, but when she couldn't find the source she disregarded it and moved back to her book.

Tap, tap.

Hermione was startled at the new and louder sound, and looked up at the window. Outside, a grey barn owl was hitting the window with its beak in a very regular and efficient way. Owls were not very commonly about during the day, and certainly not rapping on people's windows with letters. She knew about owls and letters, of course, but she never thought that she could receive a letter from the Wizarding World so soon. Hermione was just starting Hogwarts and there was nothing more that she needed to know or anyone who could write to her.

She stepped carefully toward the window and allowed the bird inside.

"Hi," she said with a smile, but the only answer she got was a brief hoot and the letter being pushed towards her.

It took a moment for Hermione to pick it up, and when she did the owl took off with a swift movement. After seeing the bird disappear into the skies, she sighed and her eyes moved back to piece of paper in her hands.

"I've seen this before," she said quietly looking at a strange seal on the back of the envelope. She closed her eyes and tried to remember where she had seen it. And then she remembered, and her eyes flew open in surprise. "The Ministry! The Ministry of Magic!"

The Ministry of Magic had popped out in a few places in her books, and Professor McGonagall also mentioned something about it, but Hermione wasn't sure if it was a normal thing for the Ministry to be writing letters to first years. After all, she hadn't done any magic yet and she was completely positive that she hadn't broken any magical law either.

The letter was rather surprising and she turned it over in her hands, feeling the smooth parchment. However, what Hermione saw on the other side surprised her even more, "Mrs. Weasley?"

The situation was certainly strange; the owl had brought her the wrong letter. All of her experience with Magic came from Professor McGonagall or from the things she had witnessed at Diagon Alley, but it was enough to get the general idea of how Magic worked. Hermione could use all kind of adjectives to describe what she had experienced; the spells and magical items she had seen were wonderful, practical and sometimes quirky, but they didn't seem to fail. Magic appeared to be, if executed correctly, a graceful result of the invoker's commands.

Hermione didn't know what to think. If the delivery was made using Magic she couldn't understand why it didn't meet its destination. The best explanation she could come up with was that the owl made some kind of mistake that wasn't considered; after all, everyone and everything can make a mistake.

The girl decided to wait and see if anyone came to claim the letter. She didn't have a way to send it back, after all, and it was rude to open it just to get clues of who Mrs. Weasley was.

Soon, Hermione was immersed again in her reading, with occasional thoughts of how could she improve the Wizarding Post Service once she was a more experienced witch.

A long time passed after that, Hermione's attention had already moved to her _Modern Magical History_ book when the doorbell rang. The girl raised her eyes, but she quickly returned to the book once she heard the door closing.

"Hermione?" her mother's voice came then from the other side of the bedroom door.

"Yes, Mum?" answered Hermione, turning around while her mother opened the door very slowly.

"Can you come downstairs for a moment? There are some people here who want to talk to you."

Hermione nodded with confusion; she didn't have an idea of who could be asking for her. "Yes, Mum." she said and her mother left.

"Maybe it is about the letter," she thought as she walked downstairs, "probably is Mrs. Weasley coming for it."

However, when Hermione entered the living room she discovered that both visitors were men, which pretty much scrapped the idea of Mrs. Weasley being one of them. Then, her eyes caught something that she couldn't believe.

"You're Albus Dumbledore!" she said with a fluttering heart addressing one of the two men. The old wizard had a long silver beard and he was wearing large blue robes, "I was just reading about you! You're Hogwarts' headmaster and the greatest wizard alive; I know a lot of things about you of course! Have you really discovered all those uses for dragon blood?"

The headmaster gave her a little smile before answering, "It seems like you have begun with your lessons quite early this year dear girl. Good, good, a keen mind is always a wonderful thing." at those words Hermione blushed a bit, "However, I believe your sources may have overdone my image quite a bit. To be honest, not even half of the things they attribute to me are valid discoveries or even mine entirely. You are right on one thing though, my name is Albus Dumbledore and I am your future headmaster, so let's stick to that for now."

The girl nodded shyly, a bit embarrassed at her outburst. At that moment, she noticed the man next to Professor Dumbledore; the visitor was a thin tall man who was balding, but his remaining hair was bright red. He was looking at her carefully, trying to give her a warm smile. Hermione was puzzled by that man's presence, but she realized that she didn't know why the headmaster was there either.

"You must excuse our daughter Mr. Dumbledore," said Hermione's father from a couch on the other end of the lounge, "Ever since we found out about all of this, she has been anxious to know everything she can before the term starts. We've barely seen her since we returned from Diagon Alley."

Hermione blushed rosily.

"She has always been very passionate about these things; reading I mean." added Hermione's mother smiling at her daughter.

"Thirst for knowledge always opens many doors Mrs. Granger. I am confident that your daughter will be a great student, and eventually, an even greater witch."

"Thanks." said Hermione her flush deepening at those words.

"Sweetheart, I think you should introduce yourself, after all these are your guests."

"Yes Dad, sorry," she said quickly knowing she should have introduced herself first, "my name is Hermione Jean Granger, it is nice to meet you sir."

"The pleasure is all mine Miss Granger, I was looking forward to this encounter." he said, "Now if you allow me I want to introduce you to someone."

Hermione didn't understand why the headmaster seemed to be so interested in meeting her, surely he couldn't be that hasty to meet a girl who hadn't done a single spell in her entire life without a good reason.

"The man besides me is Arthur Weasley," said Dumbledore causing Hermione's eyes to grow bigger, "he is the head of the Weasley family, which is one of the oldest wizarding families in the country, he was also very eager to meet you today."

"It's a pleasure Hermione"

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Weasley." she said promptly, "Eh... Mr. Weasley, may I ask you something?"

The man was surprised by the quick question, but he answered politely, "Of course! Is there something wrong?"

"No, I don't think so, but I was wondering, are you here because of the letter?"

"The letter? What letter?" Hermione heard her mother ask in confusion, but Mr. Weasley didn't seem surprised.

"The one that came today," she answered, "I was revising some things for school and then it... Oh wait, I'll bring it!"

"Hermione, you have visitors!" she heard her father as she rushed toward the stairs.

"I'm just going to get something, it won't take long" she said stopping only enough to see her father nodding.

As soon as she returned to the living room, she approached Mr. Weasley and handed him the piece of paper, "Mr. Weasley I got this today; it is not mine and I don't know how is that possible. I thought that all the owls were enchanted to always find the way to their destination, but this one didn't. I guess I'll have to look at that later." finished Hermione already thinking on which of her books could contain the information she needed.

Mr. Weasley didn't even look at the envelope in Hermione's hands, "I'm afraid I can't take that Hermione."

"Why not? It's yours, isn't it? Or from someone in your family"

The man was very nervous, and he didn't seem to find the right words to say, so Professor Dumbledore addressed her instead, "It could be said that it belongs to someone related to Arthur, yes, although I am certain there was no mistake on the delivery."

That didn't make sense to Hermione, she thought that if the letter was meant to Mr. Weasley's family, then it should have been delivered to his house and not to a random Muggleborn girl. "But the envelope has Mrs. Weasley as the recipient, right there under the Ministry's symbol" she said confused.

Hermione's parents were surprised by those words since they didn't know anything about the letter, "Is that true dear?" asked her mother.

Her father's eyes were also fixed on her, but Hermione limited to nod at both of them.

"Let me tell you something young girl," Professor Dumbledore said on a calm voice, "There are few things in this world that I can truly rely on, and fortunately the efficiency of a good owl is one of them. Now if you sit down we can have a small conversation, as we came here with an important matter to discuss."

Hermione was confused as much as her parents, but she kept the letter and nodded.

"Come here darling." her mother said.

Once she was sitting next to her parents, Hermione got the feeling that something strange was going on, Albus Dumbledore was without doubt the greatest wizard alive and he was sitting in her living room as if that was the most normal thing to do for him. Their presence was certainly intriguing, and she couldn't stop thinking that it had something to do with the letter in her hands.

"The reason for our visit is very complicated Madam, but I want you to know that we are here to help your daughter."

"To help Hermione? Is there a problem with her going to Hogwarts?"

"No Mrs. Granger, the situation is more related to the Ministry of Magic." said the headmaster.

Hermione's eyes expanded, "The Ministry! But I haven't done any magic yet! I had barely touched my wand since we bought it. I had been wanting to practice a few things, but I know that I am not allowed to, not until I get to Hogwarts."

"I know that you haven't, this problem was originated by a group of people who we have already identified, but you are still expected for a clarification hearing on Monday."

"A hearing?!" exclaimed Hermione's father, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. "but you said that you already know who did this... thing, couldn't you take them instead? And besides, what is the problem in the first place?"

"They are going to be there to explain things," Mr. Weasley said, "however, Hermione needs to go too because she was the one required initially."

"I-I-I... was?"

"Yes Hermione, the Ministry believes that you are involved, and they are asking for your presence" said Mr. Weasley.

"But she isn't, couldn't you say to them that Hermione didn't do anything?" said Hermione's mother on a worried voice.

"It would be best if we save that until Monday, when we can bring proof of what we say. This hearing is not something to worry about though, I assure you that your daughter won't face any kind of problem in that audience."

"Proof? What are you talking about Mr. Weasley?" asked Hermione's father.

"We are taking the group of people responsible for this, rest assured. Their mere presence will be enough to prove Hermione was not involved, but it will also shake the entire Magical Community." Dumbledore said gravely, leaning forward.

Hermione was very confused; she didn't had an idea of how to deal with a hearing like that. Even when Professor Dumbledore and Mr Weasley were saying that everything was going to be all right for her, she couldn't stop feeling that something was off with the whole thing. She didn't know this group of people or what they would say that could shake the entire Magical Community. After all, a society as old as that couldn't be surprised that often.

"You still haven't told us what about the problem, or why are they asking for Hermione, or even who these people are," said Hermione's father, looking a little frustrated now.

Albus Dumbledore was dead serious, but after a moment his expression softened, "Mr. Granger, this is going to sound very strange, but I have a question for you." he said surprising Hermione's father, "How much do you know about time travel?"

All three Grangers were stunned, and Hermione's mouth even fell slightly at the surprise, "Err... well only what I have seen in movies, but I don't get the question."

"Movies?" Mr. Weasley asked, sounding quite thrilled.

"Yes, you know, the movies... actors putting out a story for people to see?" Hermione noticed the confusion on her father's face; Mr. Weasley's reaction was rather strange.

"Oh... amazing!"

"You haven't seen any movies?" Hermione asked.

Mr. Weasley shook his head, "We don't have those in our world. Muggles inventions are fantastic and very clever." he said, Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Time travel is a dangerous and complex situation to handle," Professor Dumbledore continued as if there had been no interruption, "there are many things than can go wrong in every single attempt."

"I understand that but... those are movies… it is not real" said Hermione's father.

"I'm afraid that you are mistaken on that score, Mr. Granger. In the Wizarding World time travel is quite possible, although very hard to achieve."

"Are we going to study that on Hogwarts?" Hermione interrupted with her eyes wide open, "It seems fascinating, but it does sound too dangerous, maybe if we just read about it without doing actually any kind of incantation..." she said already frowning in sign of deep thought.

"Don't worry Hermione, this is something that you won't be seeing at Hogwarts," said Mr. Weasley, "it is very regulated by the Ministry"

"Oh," she said a little disappointed.

"Why are you telling us all of this? Does it have something to do with Hermione or this... hearing?" asked Hermione's mother.

"It does indeed, time travel is the cause of our current dilemma, and the reason why your daughter is required at the Ministry in a couple of days."

The confusion spread across all the Grangers, especially on Hermione's father who was still trying to assimilate the words of Professor Dumbledore. "How?" was all what he managed to ask in a very low voice.

Dumbledore paused only enough for the question to sink on everyone in the room, "In the Wizarding World, there's a device called Time Turner," started the headmaster, "these devices are very hard to build and they are also strictly controlled, not just anyone has the entitlement to study them."

"Oh! How do they work professor?" Hermione asked with enthusiasm.

A slight smile appeared on the man's face, "Not even I know all the mysteries Time Turners conceal Miss Granger, but I do know the basics. The device basically allows a person to travel back in time for a few hours, this person will relive time itself until he or she reaches the departure time again."

"That sounds unbelievable!"

"It quite is Mrs. Granger, but it is also true. Time is one of the biggest mysteries that exist, even for us with all our knowledge in the matter, which is why we handle it in such a cautious way." said the old wizard, then he paused to let that information sink on Hermione and her parents.

"And what does it have to do with Hermione?" asked her father after a few seconds.

Professor Dumbledore sighed, "This morning we received a visit from a group of people that used one of these Time Turners, they come from the future, twenty four years from now to be more precise."

"You said that they only went back for a few hours!" yelled Hermione.

"They only do few hours now Hermione, but this one is not from our time." said Mr. Weasley.

"It doesn't exist yet?" she asked very thrilled.

Mr. Weasley confirmed her words, "No it doesn't, but it is going to be invented in the future, and it will be able to travel many years back into the past."

The whole idea seemed insane but Hermione understood it perfectly, and she was very eager to know more about it. In the meanwhile, her parents seemed like they were still struggling with that information. Hermione couldn't blame them for that, after all, it was not easy to imagine something like it being possible.

"I still don't get it," said her father finally, "what does all of this have to do with Hermione?"

Hermione got the feeling that Mr. Weasley was turning more nervous, which was pretty odd, but she didn't had much time to think about it because right then Professor Dumbledore spoke again, "Many things in fact, but let's start by saying that your daughter is the creator of this amazing Time Turner."

"WHAT! Hermione built it?!" said Hermione's father at the same time that his wife released a loud gasp. Hermione on the other hand was completely dumbfounded, unable to believe what the headmaster had said.

"Yes she did, I have to tell you that based on the information we now have from the future, it is safe to say that your daughter will become a very talented witch some day."

"I-I-I did it? but... how? I mean, am I allowed to work with Time Turners in the future?" Hermione asked after her initial shock.

"I believe you are, it is also quite easy to guess that you will have a high rank at the Ministry at that time also."

"This is insane! How can you be so sure of that!?"

"Mr. Granger, we have proof of what we are saying" said Mr. Weasley.

"Well you will have to show that proof if you expect me to believe that all of this is real."

"Of course," said Professor Dumbledore turning to look at Mr. Weasley, "Arthur, I believe it is time."

Mr. Weasley nodded quite seriously, then spoke to Hermione's father, "I'll go get that proof for you and I'll be back soon."

Hermione's father took Mr. Weasley all the way to the main entrance, and everyone went silent at the sound of the closing door. Hermione didn't know what to think about Mr. Weasley's absence, since she didn't have a clue of what he was going to bring as a proof for them. Also there was no point in brooding over it because her thoughts just kept bouncing her back to the Time Turner and the idea of being her the one who invented it in the future.

The hush remained but soon it became unnerving, especially for Hermione who had tons of questions that she couldn't voice because her parents were looking pretty tense and she didn't want to upset them. It was a fact that waiting was not something that she enjoyed.

A couple of minutes passed before her mother finally decided to break the silence, and then Hermione realized that the only one who had been at ease the entire time was the headmaster.

"So Mr. Dumbledore, what kind of proof are we expecting?" she asked to the wizard.

Even when Professor Dumbledore never gave signs of being uncomfortable with the lack of words he answered naturally, "Well Mrs. Granger, do you remember when I mentioned the group of people that had travelled back in time?"

"Of course I do! I assume that they are the same people that you were going to take to the hearing, am I right?"

"Correct"

A sudden thought came then to Hermione, but it was way too weird to even believe it herself, "It's not me, right?! I mean the future-me?" asked the scared girl causing an immediate shock on her parents. All what the professor had said was that someone travelled back in time and that the device that was used for it was invented by her, it wasn't hard to get to that thought.

"She can't be here!"

"She could pretty much be here Mr. Granger, and without much trouble I believe. She was the one who invented this Time Turner after all." Professor Dumbledore said and Hermione's parents paled, "However, no, she is not one of our visitors from the future."

The last words seemed to relax them slightly, "So if she is not here, who are those people?"

"I'm afraid that you haven't met them yet Mrs. Granger, but they are very close to your daughter and it is precisely her bond to them what caused our current plight."

"That's rubbish," Hermione's father said, "this bond thing doesn't make any sense and I am sure that Hermione does not know any of those people"

"Indeed, she doesn't know them yet but she will, please don't forget that we are talking about time travellers here Mr. Granger."

"So Hermione will meet them when they are older?" said Hermione's mother, "this is very confusing, how old are they right now? Where are they?"

"None of them are even born yet." the headmaster said stunning Hermione and her parents.

"Th-They aren't...? but-... they are young, then."

"Children actually Mrs. Granger, the oldest of the time travellers is about the same age as your daughter now."

"My age? But that would mean that... they won't be born for another thirteen years!" Hermione yelled after doing the math.

"This is insane! Why would a group of kids attempt something like that!?" said her father.

"It appears that all of this was only an accident Mr. Granger, they never tried to send themselves back to this time."

Hermione's father opened his mouth ready to protest, but he was cut off by his daughter's hurried words, "But you said that it was very regulated, Time Turners I mean, how do they got access to this-" she stopped suddenly on a gasp.

"I believe that you already figured that out Miss Granger." said Professor Dumbledore, "Yes, these children took your Time Turner in a moment of oversight and we already know the rest of the story."

"I still don't get it," said Hermione's mother, "What do these kids have to do with our daughter? How do they got access to Hermione's... things?"

"Well the two who Arthur is bringing here are, as I said before, very close to her and the main reason why I am here in the first place. They are your daughter's children of course."

A loud gasp was heard from Hermione's mother while the girl and her father remained completely stunned. Hermione knew that if the headmaster was saying the truth and the travellers really came from twenty four years into the future then it was perfectly possible for them to be her children, but the mere idea seemed completely out of this world. After all she was only eleven and she didn't have a clue of how to handle that kind of information.

"WHAT! Are you saying that Hermione has kids in the future? And they are coming here!?" yelled Hermione's father clearly confused.

Albus Dumbledore didn't have a chance to answer because at that very moment the doorbell rang and the Grangers froze.

"Oh, that must be Arthur already" said Professor Dumbledore.

"But he just left!"

RING

The second time that the doorbell rang Hermione's father turned to look at his family unable to decide what to do, but a gesture from his wife convinced him to stand up and he headed to the main door with a shaky pace.

Hermione followed her father with the look all the way. She was terrified- her future children could be walking through that door any moment now and she wasn't even sure if she wanted that.

"Everything will be all right dear, all of this could be a misunderstanding" her mother whispered and Hermione answered with a nod.

Soon enough Hermione's father returned to the living room looking very pale but he was not alone, Mr. Weasley was walking beside him with two red-haired kids who caught Hermione's attention immediately. The boy was fluttering with a big smile in her direction while the girl was looking at her with wide eyes, it was only after seeing her that Hermione fully realized that Albus Dumbledore had been saying the truth all along.

"Well we're back. Albus, have you told them?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"I have indeed Arthur" answered Professor Dumbledore causing Mr. Weasley to nod. Hermione couldn't care less because her eyes were set on the kids, especially on the girl whose appearance was the reason of everyone's shocking reactions.

The girl was older than the boy but still two or three years younger than Hermione who couldn't stop staring at her. It was incredible how much the younger girl looked like her, her bushy hair was identical to Hermione's except for the fact that it was completely red, and her face was almost the same as hers, except for the light freckles. Both smiled and waved at the stunned Grangers.

"Now, Hermione let me introduce you to your... oh wait where's Ron?" said Mr. Weasley looking around while the redhead kids turned surprised in the main door's direction. The girl went back toward the entrance hall quickly.

"Who is Ron? I thought that you said that they were only two!" said Hermione's mother.

The redhead girl returned to the living room dragging a redhead boy with a panicked look on his face. Hermione noticed that he was older than the two previous kids and practically identical to the first boy, which thrilled her because Professor Dumbledore had really said that only two kids were coming, this one was around her age so it would feel very awkward if he was her son too.

Then the new boy saw her and blushed deeply, looking everywhere but her. Hermione was confused since that reaction was very different from the one that the other kids had.

"Two?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Yes, you know... two of them... her chi-chi-children." finished Hermione's mother on a trembling voice, she couldn't take her eyes away from the redhead girl either and Hermione realized that both of her parents were trying very hard to understand what was going on.

"Oh, Ron is not Hermione's son," Mr. Weasley said quickly, "he is actually my son; he is not from the future."

"Then why did you bring him?" asked Hermione's father very confused. Hermione raised an eyebrow thinking the same thing and at the same time wondering why he looked so much like the other boy, the one who was supposed to be her son.

Mr. Weasley seemed nervous but he answered anyway, "We thought that it would be best for him to be here, in fact I am here because of him"

"Because of him? I don't get it," said Hermione's father, "What is his involvement in all of this?"

"He is the father of Miss Granger's children naturally." answered Professor Dumbledore on a soft and calm voice.

Hermione's eyes opened wide turning to look at Mr. Weasley's son, and when the boy saw her they both blushed furiously. Hermione couldn't believe it, she was being introduced to her future husband and she hadn't even started in Hogwarts yet. There was no easy way to take that even when the similarities between him and the kids were remarkable.

"You're mad! She is only eleven and you are here saying that she has kids and... this boy..." Hermione's father rushed but, he got lost when he focused on Mr. Weasley's son, Ron.

"Mr. Weasley is as guiltless in all of this as your daughter Mr. Granger, he was also very surprised this morning when we found out about the children." said Professor Dumbledore, "He had nothing to do with our current situation and, as I said before, everything appears to be caused by their presence at our current time."

The two kids who were supposed to be Hermione's children dropped their smiles at that comment, "We're sorry Grandpa, it wasn't our fault. I told James to stay away from it!" said the redhead girl.

The shock of being called a grandfather was huge for Hermione's father who couldn't find what to answer to the girl.

"Ja-James?" asked Hermione's mother instead in a trembling voice.

Both kids nodded quickly, but it was Professor Dumbledore the one to clarify everything, "He is one of the other travellers and the future nephew of your daughter Mrs. Granger, but I am sure that this was an accident. I don't think that the boy should be blamed for this."

"Oh"

"I think that we had put aside introductions for way too long, Mr. Weasley?" said Professor Dumbledore taking advantage of a brief moment of silence in the room, he was slightly looking at Mr. Weasley's son by the end of his sentence.

The redhead boy seemed very nervous and peaky which caught Hermione's attention, then the boy tried to open his mouth but he couldn't find his voice, "I know that this is hard son, but we need to get over with this so we can focus on the hearing" his father said to him in a low voice.

The boy still appeared to be scared but he gave a shaky nod to his father. It was unreal and pretty weird for Hermione to see him struggling also with the news of the time travellers.

The boy gulped and moved his fearful eyes to Hermione for a brief moment, just before turning away completely red, this time though Hermione was able to hear her future husband's voice for the first time, "H-Hi, I-I'm R-Ron.. Wea-Weasley" he said to no one in particular looking down as much as possible.

"Perfect, now our guests from the future"

"I'm Rose Weasley and this is my brother Hugo" the redhead girl said with a big smile pointing at the younger boy. Hermione got an immediate awkward sensation at the use of the Weasley surname since that pretty much insisted on her being married to Ron in the future.

Hermione's parents were confused and still trying absorb everything that was being said but after a deep breath Hermione's father spoke. He was not angry, instead his voice sounded worried, "How do we know that you are not lying? You know magic after all, and you could be easily faking this"

Magic could surely do impressive things and Hermione knew that there was probably a way to make two kids look like they were her children, but even so she couldn't find a valid reason for Albus Dumbledore to do something like that.

"Mr. Granger I swear that I am being utterly truthful with my words. I do understand your concerns though, and I assure you that the Wizarding World has tools to prove the truth in cases like these, but it wouldn't be wise to use any of those here, mostly because you ignore their reliability."

"The kids know them Albus, they can surely talk about a lot of things that we wouldn't know." said Mr. Weasley.

"I agree Arthur, even when future knowledge is very dangerous it seems like our only solution." Professor Dumbledore turned to look at Rose, "Miss Weasley, can you tell us about something relating to your grandparents? Something that could prove that you are indeed Miss Granger's daughter?"

The redhead girl appeared to be surprised, but soon she nodded with a serious expression.

"Wonderful"

Hermione stared with interest while Rose frowned and moved a hand to her lower face clearly thinking on something that she could use, then her eyes lit up and she turned to look at Hermione's father with a grin.

"You like football!" she said, "Aston Villa is your favourite team!"

"That doesn't prove anything, football teams have supporters and Aston Villa is not an exception; many people follow it." he answered.

"Not as much as Manchester" added Hugo.

"Oi!"

"Sorry"

"You like football?" asked Hermione utterly surprised, she had wanted to speak so many times before but she couldn't find the right time or thing to say.

Rose and Hugo nodded, "Grandpa takes us to many games; he even explained the rules to Dad."

"You don't know how to play football?!" asked Hermione's father to Ron instinctively startling the redhead, even so Ron shook his head.

"I-I don't... sir" the boy answered shyly.

"He knows now, in the future I mean," said Rose, "he likes it a lot, we all do, but not as much as Quidditch."

"Mum doesn't" said Hugo.

"Oh right, she doesn't like it even when I had tried to convince her. I once showed her this book, Living Quidditch... she read it and played with us but still that didn't convince her!"

Hermione was dumbfounded, that information was too confusing for her, but not for Ron who was now looking at her with wide eyes like trying to say something to her, ".. she doesn't like Quidditch?" he finally mumbled.

Rose and Hugo shook their heads.

"Quidditch? I don't... what?" asked Hermione's father.

"It's a wizarding sport, very popular." answered Mr. Weasley, "It basically involves two teams that fly on brooms trying to send a ball called Quaffle right through a few rings placed at either side of the field, it is not that simple you'll see because-"

"Arthur," said Professor Dumbledore softly, "I enjoy Quidditch as much as any other but I believe that we are flying away from our topic here."

"Yes, sorry Albus" the man answered, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Now, Miss Weasley is there any other thing that we could use?" asked the headmaster.

"Mmmmh... I know! Grandma says that Grandpa John was so shocked when they found out about Mum being a witch that he spilled tea all over the living room"

"That's... not..." mumbled Hermione's father very red, "That does not count! That professor, the old woman, she could have told you that!"

"Oh... Mmmmmh..." Rose twisted a strand of hair around her finger, just like Hermione did when she was thinking.

"What about the fat guy? The one who Grandpa was checking when Mum used accidental Magic." said Hugo, "I like that story."

"Of course!" replied Rose, "Hugo you are a genius!"

"What fat guy?" asked Hermione's mother.

"Grandpa told us that he was checking on a patient when Mum was very little-"

"A fat guy."

"Yes Hugo, it was a fat guy." she said rolling her eyes, "Well, Grandpa John took Mum to work and left her at some couch with a few toys," started Rose.

"You did? I don't remember it." said Hermione.

"It was a one time thing dear," answered her mother, "After you returned he said that he couldn't keep an eye on you, still I took you with me when I checked my own patients and never had a problem." she finished giving a weird look to her husband who was now slightly pale.

"Mum says that she doesn't remember it." said Hugo.

"What happened next?" asked Hermione's mother.

"Mum did accidental magic, don't know what exactly, Grandpa says that he saw a bunch of things flying and he even stumbled over the fat guy."

"It is a very funny story, Grandpa pushed the guy and he fell to the floor very hard." said Hugo.

Hermione was surprised, but so was her mother who turned quickly to look at her husband, "John?"

"I didn't know what happened then dear! Something smacked me in the head!"

"And what happened to the poor man?" asked Hermione's mother.

"He lost a couple of teeth, Grandpa had to pay him."

"John!"

"It wasn't my fault! Something really hit me!" he tried to defend himself, "Besides he could've landed with the hands! Come on who on earth puts the mouth first when falling to the floor!?"

"John!"

A frown appeared on Hermione's mother forehead, and then she moved her sight to the kids who were supposed to be her grandchildren. A brief moment passed and her features softened with a sigh.

"Can... Can you come here?" she asked to them with her arms opened.

"Sweetheart! we don't know what-"

"Oh John, what more proof do you want?" his wife answered frowning. Hermione's father seemed ready to reply, but he looked at the kids and he sighed lowering his head in defeat.

The kids didn't take long to get to where Hermione's mother was and they hugged her tightly, even when she didn't seem totally at ease with that. Hermione noticed her father's reluctant looks, and then the kids separating from her mother and turning to look at her.

"Hi" said Rose with a weak smile.

"Hi" replied Hermione on an awkward tone.

After a moment her mother turned to look at her, "It's ok sweetheart, you don't need to say anything to them, but it looks like this has been hard for them too." the woman said.

Hermione didn't know what to say, hugging them would feel pretty awkward, after all she was almost as old as they were; however, something told her that she couldn't just turn her back to them, her future self wouldn't like that. Hermione looked at her future children trying to imagine how hard would it be to wake up one day and find out that none of your loved ones remembers you. This was not their fault and they had been having a pretty weird day as well, she sighed and nodded in their direction.

The surprise on her father's face said that he was not entirely ok with that, but before he could say something the two kids rushed in Hermione's direction stopping just before her.

"We are really sorry Mum, we shouldn't have followed James." said Rose.

"Ehmm... don't worry, I don't think that this was your fault." she said, "Still you should be careful, especially if you know that this... James does things like this."

"Sorry Mum we know, James is not that bad." answered Hugo and Hermione got the feeling that they had heard similar words from her before. "Dad says that we should have more fun while we are young because everything is boring after Hogwarts"

She dropped her mouth in surprise, and she quickly turned to look at Ron with a nasty frown.

The redhead boy was startled, "I-I didn't!... well not yet!"

Hermione snorted and returned her attention to the kids who were now grinning at their father's mumblings, then in a sudden movement Rose and Hugo hugged her tightly.

"I missed you Mum" said Hugo.

Hermione's eyes were big at that feeling, she was only a couple of years older than them but they seemed to feel more at ease now that they were with her. A few feet away her mother was smiling at her while her father showed a weird face.

"Eh... so, is there a way to send them back? I'm sure that they miss them in the future." asked Hermione's father.

"I'm afraid that we don't know yet, either way I'll start checking on that as soon as we are over with the hearing." answered Professor Dumbledore.

"Is there a way we can help? We would like to be at that hearing."

"That won't be possible," said Mr. Weasley, "Long processes are required to take Muggles to the Ministry, even if they already know about the Wizarding World, and we only have two days." Hermione turned her attention to the man. An uncomfortable Ron was just besides him, apparently the boy was feeling awkward of seeing her with the kids even if they were not hugging her anymore.

"She is our daughter; are you asking us to let her go all alone?"

"I understand perfectly what you are feeling," said Mr. Weasley, "We'll see what we can do, but I don't think it will be possible for you to join us. Either way, I promise I'll look up for Hermione as if she were my own daughter"

Hermione stared at the redhead man with surprise in her brown eyes.

"I still don't like it, we should be there. Besides you haven't even told us what is this hearing about," said Hermione's father, "they couldn't possibly blame her for the time travel, right?"

"They are not, the Ministry doesn't even know about it yet." said Mr. Weasley.

"Then what is all of this about? I don't get it."

Mr. Weasley sighed and Professor Dumbledore spoke next, "Mrs. Granger, we have been avoiding to talk about the main issue because it is complicated to explain and we needed you to fully understand what was going on."

"Tell us now then"

"I know that this is going to be hard to accept for all of you, however, I promise you that it will be nothing more than the truth." said the headmaster stopping only briefly, "Your daughter's children didn't travel alone, they brought a bond with them and that is what the Ministry is noticing."

"That bond again? What are you talking about?" asked Hermione's father. Ron turned instantly pale at the Dumbledore's words.

"That would be the marriage bond from their parents"

"A marriage bond?" Hermione squeaked.

"Yes Miss Granger, you should know that wizards and witches do a special spell to bond them in marriage, this spell grants them recognition by the Magical Community as well as other advantages."

"And Hermione did this spell?"

The headmaster nodded, "As any other marrying couple would do."

"But you said that this bond... travelled." said Hermione's mother, suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped.

"You can't be saying what I think you are saying" added Hermione's father on a serious tone.

"I am afraid I am, since this morning your daughter is married to Mr. Ronald Weasley."

Hermione was shocked, she opened her mouth but she was unable to say anything. She couldn't be married, she was only eleven years old and she had just met Ron, it was not possible.

"WHAT!? you're mental! She's only eleven!"

"John please calm down" said Mr Weasley.

"Don't tell me to calm down, you and your son come here expecting us to believe you with this!?"

"We don't, we are as shocked as you are, believe me! we didn't want things to be like this."

The argument continued but Hermione missed most of it since she was stunned looking at the kids. Rose and Hugo were looking guilty, and she didn't know what to think. The girl was now convinced of them being her children, still this was way too much for her. For a moment she turned to look at Ron, but she soon moved her eyes away, she hadn't blushed more in her entire life.

"...I still don't believe it! How can I?" Hermione caught her father's words.

"Mr. Granger I urge you to remain calm, I'll explain everything I know if you let me talk. You can decide what to believe after that" answered the headmaster.

Hermione's father didn't seem willing to do it, but his wife stopped him with a trembling voice, "John, let him finish."

At that the man snorted and spat a couple of words, "Go on."

"Today I received a letter that informed me of the bond occurring at ten minutes past nine..." the headmaster started but he wasn't able to finish because a loud gasp from Hermione stopped him.

"Sweetheart what happened? Is there something wrong?" asked her mother.

"The letter" was all what Hermione could answer.

"The letter? What letter?" asked her father.

Hermione slowly took out the envelope, and her parents recognize it as the paper that she had brought moments before, "It says Mrs. Weasley"

"As I previously said, that letter was addressed to someone related to Arthur, but he couldn't take it from you." said Professor Dumbledore, "It is yours, since today you are Mrs. Weasley at the eyes of the Wizarding World."

"This is madness!" yelled Hermione's father while she opened her eyes very wide.

"It is indeed, now I think it is time for you to open that letter young girl, I'll proceed with my explanation after that as I promised."

Hermione found it hard to answer but she nodded and opened the envelope, her hands trembling.

_Dear Mrs. Weasley,_

_It has been brought to our attention that you got married this morning at ten minutes past nine._

_This is usually a formality to send you our dearest congratulations, however, we also seemed to notice that you are currently eleven years of age. The Ministry is puzzled as to how this Marriage has taken place, and found its way into our records as a legally authorized bond. As per the Wizengamot guidelines, the minimum age of consent for marriage is fourteen years, which is also the age at which marriage spells can be placed upon the involved persons._

_We at the Ministry are thrilled to know how this happened, and so, we request your presence for a clarification hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9:30 a.m. on the fifth of August._

_Enjoy your holidays and congratulations to you and your new husband!_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Magiries Droverson_

_WIZARDRY REGISTERS AND BONDS OFFICE_

"This is impossible!" she yelled after finishing.

"Very unlikely? Yes. Impossible? I'm afraid that we can't say that now."

"Let me see that," said Hermione's father asking her for the piece of paper.

After both of Hermione's parents finished reading it, stunned expressions appeared on their faces, "This... this..."

"...doesn't say anything that we haven't said so far." completed Professor Dumbledore, "Now, may I continue with my explanation?"

Slow nods were all the old wizard got for an answer but it was enough for him, "Good. Well, as I was saying, I received my own letter pointing me to two bonds being formed today between very young people."

"Tw-Two?" asked Hermione's mother still overwhelmed by the information in the letter.

"You already know that your daughter's children didn't come here by themselves, three other children came also and they happen to be her nephews and niece."

"Hermione doesn't have any brothers or sisters."

At the words from his wife Hermione's father turned to look at Mr. Weasley, "Y-you have another son in this situation?"

"A daughter, she will be turning ten in the next few days,"

Hermione's father seemed surprised by that, "Oh... sorry about... you know." he said and Hermione noticed that he was feeling ashamed for yelling at Mr. Weasley when he was in the same situation.

A weak smile appeared on Mr. Weasley's face, "Don't worry John, I can understand more about these kinds of things, even when they are still as shocking."

"What happened next?" asked Hermione's mother to the headmaster.

"I went to see one of the boys involved, he just turned eleven and he is now Arthur's son in law." he continued with all the attention focused on him, "After that I arrived at Arthur's house where I found the time travellers and everything became clear to me."

"Are you sure that there is no mistake here?"

"I'm afraid not Mr. Granger, the letter in your daughter's hand is a proof and I also believe that your daughter would be able to do magic outside of Hogwarts now."

"I will? But no one is supposed to until they are of age! I read about it yesterday, it is all in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and Professor McGonagall also mentioned it too."

"Well Hermione, marriage grants automatic adulthood in our world." said Mr. Weasley.

"That can't be true! She's only a little girl!"

"I am very aware of that, unfortunately, this cannot be reverted. The Ministry records are changed already and they can't be modified back. Arthur and I just went there to make sure."

"But what does this mean for her? How will this affect her?" said Hermione's mother.

"Apart from the name and the adulthood rights, I believe that not much," said Mr. Weasley, "we will reveal the time travellers to the Ministry at the hearing, so everybody will be informed of what caused her current situation. We need to make sure that they are not accused of anything and that is our most urgent goal, after that we can see how can we help them regarding other matters."

"So can I still go to Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.

"Of course you can, we will be expecting great things from you" said the headmaster causing Hermione to blush, She really hoped that the man wouldn't be expecting that she could invent that Time Turner in her first year.

A few more minutes passed, Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley tried to explain all the details of the hearing and what was the next thing to do. That time also helped Hermione's parents to calm a bit and to try to absorb the situation.

Hermione had a few words with her children, trying to convince Rose that this was not her fault. However, she was having a hard time trying to avoid looking at Ron, and every time she remembered him a dark tone of red covered her face. She didn't know what was going to happen, but for now she wanted to focus on the hearing.

Hermione was really nervous about that hearing; she didn't know how would the Wizarding World react to this, but she hoped that she wouldn't get more weird surprises now.

"I really wish we could go" said Hermione's mother.

"I know that it will be unsettling, but I promise that we will let you know as soon as we know something," said Mr. Weasley, "besides Molly and I will be there and we will watch out for Hermione as if she was another daughter to us. After all, she is part of the family now."

Hermione coloured at that. "Thanks Arthur, we really appreciate that and again sorry for my earlier behaviour I was-"

"Don't worry it was perfectly understandable."

"Well, I believe that we should go now, I need to check on something for this hearing and I think that some peace is needed at the Weasleys' house." said Professor Dumbledore.

"You couldn't be more right Albus."

"Can the kids stay? I would like to get to know them better." said Hermione's mother.

"I don't think that it is the right moment Mrs. Granger. They need to rest, and tomorrow we will need to have a long conversation about what are we going to say on Monday." said the headmaster and surprisingly enough Hermione found herself feeling discouraged by those words, "Still I believe that after the meeting, when their existence becomes public ,they could come back here. What do you think Arthur?"

"It seems like a very good plan for me Albus. Oh by the way, Hermione, my wife just asked me to tell you that it would be lovely if you could join us for my daughter's birthday in a week."

Hermione was surprised of how quickly Mr. Weasley was letting her into the family, but she didn't know how the rest of his family would react to her. She was nervous, however she decided to go since she wasn't invited to a lot of birthday parties, much less to a wizarding family birthday.

"I would really like that," she said with a smile and turned to look at her parents, "Can I go?" Her mother gave her a weak smile and both of them nodded slowly.

"Perfect, we'll check the details after the hearing," said Mr. Weasley, "John, Helen, you are also invited of course."

"It sounds like a nice idea." said Hermione's mother.

"Albus you can come also if you like"

"I appreciate that invitation Arthur, but unfortunately my schedule has become even more tighter now," the old man said turning to face Hermione's parents, "Well it has been a pleasure to meet you all. I must depart right now though, Arthur I'll be in touch."

When Mr. Weasley nodded the headmaster stood up refusing to be walked to the door. Then it was Mr. Weasley's turn to say goodbye.

"So see you soon, it has been wonderful meeting you Hermione, I will pick you up around 8:00 am on Monday because my daughter's hearing is half hour earlier and we would need to check a few details before leaving, hope you don't mind."

Not at all Mr. Weasley, I will be ready" answered Hermione with a smile.

"See you Grandpa, Grandma" said Rose hugging both of Hermione's parents, it was obvious that the situation was harder for Hermione's father, nevertheless a little smile appeared on his face.

"Bye" said Hugo hugging them also.

"Take care, see you on Monday," said Hermione's mother, "Oh wait, Arthur we can help with their expenses."

"Don't worry Helen, Molly already has everything covered" he answered with a smile.

"Sure? Rose do you even have clothes here?"

"Only the ones I am wearing Grandma."

"Hold on, I'll go get you some of Hermione's old clothes, they will fit you perfectly" said Hermione's mother hurrying upstairs. She was back very quickly with a bag of a considerable size.

"I had been storing them for charity but my granddaughter needs them right now. I do hope you find something that you can use." she said making Rose and Hermione blush.

"That would be very helpful Helen, I think we can cover Hugo with something from Ron."

The woman nodded, "Goodbye Ron, see you soon." she said in a weird voice.

Ron straightened, "Go-Goodbye Mrs. Granger" he said and at the sound of his voice Hermione shot him a questioning frown.

"Bye" he said weakly to Hermione causing more blushing.

Apparently, Rose didn't found that to be a satisfying way of saying good-bye; the redhead girl rolled her eyes and then walked all the way to her father, pushing him in Hermione's direction. The boy looked terrified.

"Err... see you" he said once that he was in front of his new-found wife and he offered her a stiff handshake.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but she couldn't avoid the red on her face, "Bye Ron" she said shaking his hand. She didn't miss that he was sweating.

The boy proceeded to say goodbye to Hermione's father who told him that he wasn't mad at him but still threw him a weird look. He also told him that when the things were more settled they would need to have a talk which made the redhead gulp. After that Ron returned to his father with a loud sigh.

Rose rushed back to her mother and hugged her tightly, Hugo did the same, "Bye Mum" said both kids at the same time.

"See you soon" she answered feeling a bit uncomfortable with the embrace but she didn't want them to go either.

They returned to Mr. Weasley and all of them left the house leaving Hermione and her parents with nothing other than a disturbing letter and a mess of thoughts.


	4. Potters vs Weasleys

**Thanks to Jetsun1119 for the help with this chap**

* * *

**GINNY**

Ginny returned to her bedroom soon after breakfast was over, quietly so as not to alert anyone to the fact that she was leaving. At first she thought that her mother might stop her, but apparently Ron's departure was enough to keep everyone busy while she snuck stealthily towards the stairway.

"Hurry up Ron, your father is not going to wait forever," her mother's loud voice came from the main door's direction, "and I don't want to hear that you caused any distress to that poor girl."

"But Mum...!" replied Ron from the distance.

Some mumblings echoed and Ginny imagined the twins were probably teasing Ron while he tried desperately to prevent the trip. It was useless though, because her mother spoke again with a final tone, "No grumbling young man, now go, she must be very confused with all of this."

Ron's pleadings gave the impression he was heading to face some kind of mortal peril and not just some girl from London. Ginny couldn't blame him though; after all they were in the same situation. Even while they had different thoughts about the persons who they were supposed to be married to, they shared the same panic to face them.

The redhead girl sighed, and was about to resume her way up when voices from the living room reached her, "So you are officially my favourite brother-in-law now." It was Fred, talking to Harry, presumably.

"Congratulations, you're also mine," George said.

The curiosity took over Ginny and, without really thinking about it, she leaned against the wall trying to peek at the people there.

James and Al were whispering something to each other at one side of the room, but their sister was nowhere to be seen. Ginny didn't have much time to wonder about where the girl was, because at that moment she got a glimpse of a certain black haired boy and froze.

"Do you have more?" he asked. The twins had their arms around him and were dragging him to the living room.

"Of course not, we only have one sister." answered George.

The boy seemed confused, "Y-You just said-"

"That you were our favourite brother-in-law?" asked Fred while the boy nodded.

"Well you are! You are the only one of course, but that doesn't mean you aren't our favourite." added George reassuringly.

After that the twins pulled him to a couch, "So about our sister-"

"I-I don't!... I mean it's not like I..." he mumbled desperately as he started moving his head between the twins. Then his green eyes landed on the stairway and stopped there in surprise.

When Ginny realized the boy had caught her listening to the conversation, her own eyes expanded slowly and a loud gasp escaped her mouth. She didn't know what to do and the fact that Harry Potter was staring at her didn't make things easier. Ginny couldn't take it any longer and she raced upstairs without a second thought.

Shortly after that the redhead girl was sitting on her bedroom's floor, with her back against the door thinking of a thousand things that she could've said that were better than running away.

Ginny was not usually a shy girl but that boy was Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived; she just couldn't help it, no matter how much she hated acting like that. Ever since she could remember, she had been listening to stories about him and how he was able to save the entire Wizarding World when he was only a baby. It was an incredible story and, since her father always said that it was nothing but the truth, she started dreaming that maybe someday she would be able to meet him in person. She never thought that it would be so soon.

The girl stood up slowly and walked towards her bed where she sat down, taking an envelope out of her pocket. Ginny had grabbed it from the table in the confusion of Ron's departure, but she didn't thought that it was a wrong thing to do since the envelope was hers either way. The piece of paper was still closed and she already knew what it contained, but even so Ginny wanted to see it with her own eyes.

She took a deep breath and then she opened it.

_Dear Mrs. Potter,_

_It has been brought to our attention that you got married this morning at ten minutes past nine._

_This is usually a formality to send you our dearest congratulations, however, we also seemed to notice that you are currently nine years of age. The Ministry is puzzled as to how this Marriage has taken place, and found its way into our records as a legally authorized bond. As per the Wizengamot guidelines, the minimum age of consent for marriage is fourteen years, which is also the age at which marriage spells can be placed upon the involved persons._

_We at the Ministry are thrilled to know how this happened, and so, we request your presence for a clarification hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9:00 a.m. on the fifth of August._

_Enjoy your holidays and congratulations to you and your new husband!_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Magiries Droverson_

_WIZARDRY REGISTERS AND BONDS OFFICE_

Ginny remained staring at the letter for some time and, after rereading it for the hundredth time, she released a heavy sigh and let herself fall on the bed.

"I'm married..." she whispered to no one on a very weak voice, her eyes as big as saucers.

The girl knew that she was too young to be married, and she understood her mother in that point; however, every time she thought that the boy that she was supposed to be married to was none other than Harry Potter, she couldn't avoid a weak smile appearing on her lips. Ginny blushed, she didn't know if it was ok for her to start daydreaming with what was happening, or if she was supposed to be worried. After all she was only turning ten next week.

The kids' presence was not easy to absorb either, and every time she looked at them she ended up flushing wildly. One thing that had been especially unsettling was Lily giving a very tight hug to Harry Potter, Ginny knew that he was the little girl's father and that Lily surely missed him, but for Ginny it was like seeing herself clinging to the Boy-Who-Lived, and that was an awkward sight.

Ginny put the letter on her nightstand and picked up her battered diary. The notepad was old, but she didn't mind because what was important for her was not the book itself, but the things that she had written and drawn in it. In a way, that book was like an old friend that didn't talk back but that was a very good listener.

Skimming through the last pages, Ginny noticed she still had some time before needing a new one, so she moved to the next blank page and started writing the first thing that came to her mind, "I met Harry Potter today..." she wrote, but after that her hand stopped.

For a few minutes, Ginny sat there trying to think of what to write next, but when she couldn't she sighed and let herself fall back to the bed once more. The girl closed her eyes without being sure what she wanted to see once she opened them again. However, she didn't had much time to think about it.

Tap, tap.

The redhead girl jumped from the sound, and her eyes went big looking at the door. She thought about answering, but for a weird moment she imagined that it could be Harry Potter knocking at her bedroom door, and she got paralysed.

Tap, tap.

Nothing; Ginny wasn't sure of what to do, even if it was very possible that it was her mother the one calling at the door.

Tap tap.

After the third unanswered call, the door started opening slowly. Ginny's heart was beating faster than ever, as she slowly retreated to the corner of the room, never taking her eyes off of the door.

What Ginny saw then was the thing that she least expected; a little girl with a long red mane was standing in tiptoe in order to get a better grip of the doorknob. The girl then turned towards the bed and a big smile appeared on her face. It was Lily.

"Mummy! I found you!" she said rushing to the bed, "Why didn't you open the door?"

A very astonished Ginny was staring at the girl as she jumped onto the bed and gave her a warm hug. She couldn't find what to say but Lily didn't seem to mind. Her daughter soon separated from her and started jumping on the bed, "Why were you not downstairs with us?" the girl asked.

"I-I..."

"Why everyone is acting funny?"

Ginny didn't have a chance to answer that one either, because at that moment, Lily saw the diary. The little girl fell next to her, trying to get a better look at the pages.

"What are you looking at?" started Lily, but her eyes soon sparkled, "You put little hearts on Daddy's name!"

"Me..?.. No! I didn't!" said Ginny rushing up to close the book, she was blushing deeply.

"Yes you did. I know how to spell! Daddy taught me,"

"That's lovely dear," said Ginny's mother from the doorway. Their heads snapped up in unison; with all the fuss Ginny had forgotten the door was left open.

"Grandma!" yelled Lily and rushed towards the woman cheerfully.

Surprise appeared on Ginny's mother, but it was soon substituted for a wide smile as she hugged her granddaughter happily. "What are you doing here? You had me worried for a moment."

"I came looking for Mum!" answered Lily, "She is acting weird also! Grandma when is everybody going to stop being little?"

"Your… mummy is fine dear, there is just too much going on, and she is confused," Ginny's mother said, "Your... grandfather is going to fix this, don't worry. Now, can you be a good girl and let me talk alone with her for a moment?"

Lily nodded with a big smile "Yes Grandma!"

The woman gave her an awkward smile, "Stay here, darling. Ginny come, we can talk in the hallway."

Ginny was about to put her diary back at the nightstand, but she noticed Lily's eyes following it, so she decided to take it with her.

Once they closed the door, Ginny's mother released a huge sigh and she loosened her shoulders. She looked hard at her daughter and a clear look of concern appeared in her eyes. "How are you sweetheart?"

"I-I'm fine Mum"

"Don't lie to me Ginny, this is not something to be fine about, all of it is... is... I don't even know what it is."

"I'm confused, but I-I think I am all right Mum. What did Dad say? Is it... true?" asked Ginny.

The woman turned serious and moved her hand to her face, "I couldn't talk much with him, he only came for your brother and the kids, but… he said that it is true," she finished, and for a moment Ginny thought that her mother needed something to sit on.

Ginny showed surprise at the last sentence, and when her mother noticed it she continued talking, "We will fix this dear, I know your father will do everything in his hands to make things right. Albus is a really great wizard, and he's trying to help also, he'll know what to do."

The redhead girl nodded and after a pause she asked something she had been waiting to voice ever since she saw Harry Potter for the first time, "Is it really him?" she asked, lowering her eyes and blushing a bit.

"Yes, it appears like he is. Don't worry, he is just a normal boy who lost his family... poor child." Ginny's mother stopped briefly and a sad expression appeared on her face, "This is not his fault either, he is as confused as you are."

Ginny nodded.

"Is ok if you want to talk to him, he seems nice and it is better to keep him away from the twins. I think they were bothering him a few moments ago." the woman said with a clear frown on her forehead.

A red blush covered Ginny's cheeks at the thought of going to talk to him, "Wh-What if he doesn't l-like me?"

A loud snort came from her mother, "You shouldn't be thinking about that. Everything will continue as it was before, you shouldn't care about those dodgy records! Your father and I will worry about that."

"Yes Mum"

"Now go in there and hang out with Lily, she misses her mum and I need to start thinking about lunch for many more people."

Ginny glanced fearfully towards her bedroom.

The woman didn't miss that and she sighed, "You have to do this Ginny, that is what you would want... I mean you in the future." she said in discomfort, "You need to act as normal as possible next to them, especially to that poor girl; she doesn't understand this yet, at least not entirely."

"But I don't know what to do," answered Ginny.

"I don't expect you to do what a grown mother would do, but you can at least play something with her, keep her calm and happy, be her friend. Can you at least try? No matter how strange or wrong this is, she is still your daughter."

Ginny nodded after a brief pause.

When she returned to the bedroom, Lily was looking around with very round eyes. "Everything is different! And there is only one bed!" the girl said.

"D-Do you l-like it?"

"Yes Mum, it is pretty, but that Harpies poster is different," said Lily.

Ginny was surprised, but decided not to give it too much attention. She thought about what to do next as she slowly walked towards the bed and sat next to her, "Emm... do you want to play... something?"

Lily shook her head rapidly, "No, can you read me a story?"

"A story? Like Babitty Rabitty?" asked Ginny surprised, it had been a long time since she last read that one but she was sure there was a fairy tale book around.

"No, can you read me about Daddy again?"

Ginny's eyes went wide, "A-About... H-H-Harry P-Potter?"

Lily laughed cheerfully, "Yes him, that's his name."

A lot of possible excuses to not read that story crossed Ginny's mind, but none of them was good enough. Ginny remembered her mother's words and how she was supposed to make Lily happy, and realized that she had no way out of it.

The redhead girl nodded slowly, with a terrified look on her chocolate brown eyes. She stood up looking for the book her father used to read to her, preparing herself for a very awkward moment.

During the whole story the blush didn't leave Ginny's face, but she couldn't stop since the girl kept asking her to read more.

"That's it" said Ginny once she was finally over.

"No, it is not," Lily said, "that's only the beginning"

Ginny was stunned, that was all the Harry Potter story she knew, "I-It ends there."

"You haven't gotten to the part where he defeats the bad guy!"

"B-But... I already did... You-Know-Who died." said a very confused Ginny.

"There's more!" the girl insisted and Ginny understood it then: Harry Potter was going to do more book-worthy actions in the future. The shock was so big the girl's eyes went wide at that information. Lily on the other hand was still staring at her waiting for the other part of her story.

It was not easy for Ginny to give her new-found daughter an answer, but she didn't have to, because the sound of someone knocking at the door interrupted them. Once again she was afraid of answering, but this time she was not alone.

"Who's there?" asked Lily.

"It's me, can I come in?" a boy's voice came from the other side of the door, and Ginny panicked because she didn't recognize it.

"Come in" yelled Lily on a happy tone, while her mother freaked out at the possibility that the girl had just invited Harry Potter into her bedroom.

It was not him.

"Err... Hi Mum, Hi Lily" said a boy that for a moment Ginny was almost sure was Harry Potter, but quickly she noticed that he didn't have glasses and that he was calling her Mum.

"Hi Al, Mum was reading me a story. Want to join us?"

"Later maybe." the boy said, and then he turned to Ginny who jumped at having the piercing green eyes fixed on her. "Mum, Grandma says Grandpa is back; she wanted me to tell you in case you wanted to go downstairs."

Ginny's eyes were still wide open when she nodded. She really didn't want to go downstairs, but Lily didn't give her an option.

"Let's go!" yelled the girl, dragging her mother out of the room.

"Wait..."

"Rose and Hugo are back too?" asked Lily, ignoring her mother's protests .

Al nodded, "and uncle Ron."

Soon they reached the base of the stairway from where the living room could be seen again; everybody was there, except for Ginny's parents and Percy who was surely back at his room.

"So how was it Ickle little Ronnie?" started George.

"Did you get along with your wifey?"

Ron blushed, "I wouldn't know, we didn't talk much"

"He only said goodbye" added Rose rolling her eyes.

"Oh, we really have a love bird of very few words in the family then." said Fred.

"It was not like that!" yelled a very red Ron, "...Oh forget it!"

At that moment, Lily and Al walked towards Rose and Hugo asking about their mother.

"It was very weird, she looks just like her pictures!" said Rose very excited.

"You mean just like you" added Hugo.

Rose snorted but it was obvious she wasn't angry with the comparison, "We all do Hugo, even if you look a lot like Dad now" said the bushy haired girl, turning to look at Ron, who was surprised of being mentioned like that.

"I miss Aunt Hermione" said Lily.

Rose walked all the way to her cousin and looked at her in the eyes, "We're all going to see her on Monday, Lily, she's fine." the girl said.

Lily nodded, "Okay."

Almost everyone else seemed lost; Al and James because they hadn't seen Rose's mother yet, and the rest of the people because they didn't know her. Ron was an exception, but he only looked away awkwardly.

"Where were you either way?" asked James, turning to look at his sister, "You were here and then the next moment you weren't"

"I was with Mum, she was reading me Daddy's story!"

Ginny gasped and turned to look at Lily's father with very wide eyes and a very red face. She never considered Lily could say that in front of everybody, and now she just wanted to disappear from the room. The boy looked at her with a very confused face, but he directed his question to little Lily.

"M-Me?" he said.

"Again?" asked James at the same time he faked an annoyed tone.

Lily nodded to both of them, "Yes, but she didn't finish." said the girl.

"This is turning very weird," said Fred.

"Indeed, my dear brother, it is." George added throwing a strange look at the green eyed boy, who was now supposed to be Ginny's husband.

"Lily always wants to listen to that story. Not sure why, we all have heard it a gazillion times." said Al.

"It is pretty cool, and has awesome drawings though" added Hugo. Ginny wondered about those drawings, and what was in their future books that was yet to come at the current timeline. For a moment she wished she could swap her old book for theirs.

Ron snorted, "Ginny doesn't need to read a book, Dad tells her that story every night." he said at the same time he stared at Harry in a very strange way.

Ginny blushed even redder than before, torn between throwing murderous looks at her brother and returning to her bedroom quickly. She was about to do the latter when her mother returned to the living room looking pale. Ginny's father was next to her.

"What is happening here?" she asked on a weak voice.

"We were just talking about Harrykins here-" said George, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"-and his very interesting story."

"Apparently everyone wants to read it now."

"It seems so dear brother, I'm thinking about grabbing that book myself," Fred completed.

Ginny's mother sent them very suspicious looks, "I already told you two that I don't want you bothering that boy. Harry dear, are they giving you trouble?"

"Not at all Mrs. Weasley" he answered promptly.

"They better not." she said glaring at the twins.

"Well, I believe that there is not going to be any more news or movements today." said Ginny's father, "Still, we need to figure out where everyone is going to stay."

"Rose dear, you and Lily can sleep at Ginny's room. Arthur will check later about increasing the bed size," Ginny's mother said immediately

"Sure Grandma." answered Rose.

"Arthur says you have some clothes your mother gave to you." said Ginny's mother.

"Yes, I have a bag around here."

"All right, Ginny I think you may have something that can fit Lily." Ginny nodded, feeling pretty weird at the idea of lending clothes to her own daughter.

Moments later the three girls were heading upstairs while the twins tried to convince their mother that they wouldn't be a bad influence on James, who apparently was going to end up sleeping in their room.

Ginny soon found her smallest set of clothes, which were also the oldest ones, causing her instant embarrassment. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything better to offer to her daughter and that was frustrating. She wondered if the girl's father would be upset by that; after all the girl arrived this morning wearing very nice clothes.

"They're pretty Mum," said Lily, surprising Ginny, "Should I put them on?"

"Err..." Ginny was confused because she wasn't used to people asking her for instructions, and much less regarding what to wear. However, Lily was silent waiting for an answer and Ginny thought that it would be silly to walk downstairs just to ask her mother about it. "Later" she said after a long pause.

"So... you are Harry Potter" Ron's voice came then from the hallway, surprising the girls instantly. For a moment, Ginny considered walking to the door to get a peek on them, but she thought it would be awkward with Rose and Lily looking at her.

"As far as I know..." another voice answered, and Ginny's heart started beating faster. She wanted to know more about him, but she didn't dare to talk to him or even get near him, so her attention was set entirely on the voice right now.

"Wicked!" Ron said.

"Your house is amazing"

"Do you really think so? It is a house as any other."

"Dad's room is even better" said a third voice that Ginny knew belong to Hugo, Ron's little son.

"Oh it's only a normal room" answered Ron in a shy voice.

"A quite orange one." said another voice, who Ginny now recognized as Al's.

"It is a great color," said Ron again, "Oh that's Ginny's room; mine is almost at the top."

Ginny's eyes widened at the mention of her room, it was as if she could almost see them walking on the other side of the door. Then something weird happened, because the footsteps in the hallway stopped suddenly.

"So... you and Ginny..." said Ron changing his tone.

"You too? I just met her... I don't..."

"But she's Mum!" said Al.

"Eh...? I know, but I..."

"You're married to her," whined Ron, "I mean, you don't like her or something do you?" Ginny was blushing furiously, but she didn't want to miss the conversation.

A snort echoed in the room, and Ginny turned to look at Rose, who was rolling her eyes, "Dad..." she mumbled. Lily on the other hand had a weird look on her face.

"No! I mean... it's not that I don't..." for a great hero, Harry Potter seemed to be having a big problem with words, "Look, she doesn't even want to talk to me, ok? I haven't even heard her voice!"

Ginny lowered her brown eyes.

A brief silence passed, and Ron's voice was heard "OK, OK, if you say so. It's just weird."

"As you and Mum?" asked Hugo.

"What? her...? I-" Ron started mumbling all kind of things, but nothing that Ginny could understand. She knew that on the other side of that wall, her brother was surely blushing deeply. Rose on the other hand was smirking.

Some laughs echoed to the room, and eventually the boys decided to let everything go and resumed their way to Ron's room. The last thing Ginny was able to hear was Ron's voice fading in the distance, "So there's where he...? you know..." he said, but Ginny didn't understood what he meant.

A few hours later everyone was back at the living room, including Ginny who had been dragged against her will by her daughter and niece. Ginny actually would've preferred to stay at her bedroom where no one could tease her about having read Harry Potter's story to Lily. Still, being downstairs allowed her a glimpse at the boy who was now her husband.

"So how about a Quidditch game?" said Fred suddenly.

"... Gred have I ever told you that you always have the most brilliant ideas?" responded George.

"Now of course my dearest brother, we both have excellent ideas." Both of them smirked, leaving a few surprise expressions around them. Ginny was confused about the kids, since they looked amused, as if they were just meeting the twins. That was pretty odd considering they were supposed to come from the future; surely they should be used to the twins' ways.

"All right then," continued George, "who of you, my wonderful nephews and nieces, likes Quidditch?"

"Me!" all five of the future kids yelled.

"Perfect. How about you Harrykins? Do you know Quidditch?" asked George.

"Ron has mentioned something." the boy replied.

"Hmmm What do you think George? I believe that means he probably heard everything at once, he may have not understand one bit."

"It is possible, still that's not a problem, since we can explain it again at the field." answered George, leaving Ron with a very nasty frown.

"I did understand, most of it I guess."

"We will see, mind to join us Perce?"

Percy snorted, "I have many things to study right now. I have O.W.L.S. this year, you know?." he said and rushed to his bedroom as he usually did these days. Ginny thought the only reason he had been at the living room in the first place was because he was curious about the kids.

"Have some fun, guys, you be here by dinner." said Ginny's father, his voice reflecting a lot of worry.

"Sure thing Dad!" said Fred over his shoulder, as Ron was already dragging Harry out of the house, trying to explain the rules one more time.

"Don't let Hugo or Lily play, they are too young for the brooms," Ginny's mother called from the kitchen

"But Grandma...!"

"Grandma! I want to play!"

"I said no, maybe some other day when you have more supervision. Rose and Al can play as long as you don't keep the rings too high" Ginny's mother said her last word, daring the twins to contradict her.

Lily and Hugo snorted and scuffled their feet out of the house, Rose and Al complained a bit too but they followed.

Since Lily seemed willing to see the game from the pitch, Ginny started walking back, she was planning on staying in her room and watching the game from there, but at that moment a voice took her out of her thoughts.

"Isn't Ginny coming?" it was Harry Potter. Ginny's eyes were wide, and she couldn't manage an answer.

"Ginny doesn't play" Ron blurted out.

"She does, she's the best" answered Al, Ginny was surprised by that but some part of it was true. The girl had been sneaking to the broom shed for years, and she did know how to use a broom pretty well.

"She is?" asked one of the twins, "Well we haven't seen her yet, maybe she'll learn soon."

"She already knows, I think," replied James looking at Ginny, he was trying to remember something, "I know she started flying since she was very little, long before everybody else found out. She took brooms out of the shed without anyone noticing."

Ginny gasped.

"Well that's interesting, so can you fly Gin-Gin?" asked George, raising an eyebrow.

The redhead girl was surprised, she had never been caught flying around the orchard by her brothers, and now a weird situation with her children exposed her, she wasn't sure what to answer. She finally sighed and gave a nervous nod, trying to not look into a certain pair of green eyes.

"It is decided then"

"B-But... are you sure?" asked Ron.

"She surely knows more about flying with a broom than I do," Ginny's eyes went wide when Harry defended her, "I'll probably fall every time."

The kids seemed ready to deny that, but Fred talked putting an end to the discussions, "Well enough talk, as the more experienced players here we get to decide-"

"-and it is our decision that they play, so let's go!"

As everybody walked out of the house, Ginny caught her mother smiling and giving her a reassuring nod. The woman had heard and she wanted her to play, although it also looked like she was telling her to be careful.

Even with all that, Ginny wasn't sure if playing was a good idea; after all, she didn't want to do a pretty bad game and make a fool out of herself in front of Harry Potter and the kids.

Near the pitch, Ron snorted and complained out loud, "I don't think she's that good."

"That's my mother you're talking about," said James when he heard him, "She is not good, she is great; most of the things I know I learned from her."

Ron was caught off guard, and before he could reply Al beat him to it, "She was a Holyhead Harpie, wasn't she?"

All the footsteps stopped midway to the field at that sentence, and George asked "What did you just say? A-"

"-Holyhead Harpie?" finished Fred.

When the five kids nodded all eyes turned to look at Ginny in astonishment. She was stunned and her jaw had dropped with the surprise; she was halfway between being shocked and blushing. For her that sounded incredible, even when the kids came from the future it was hard to believe them.

"Sh-she...? Harpie?" mumbled Ron with his eyes wide open, "You're joking right? it sounds like rubbish."

"Dad!" yelled Rose causing Ron to retreat instantly, "We are not lying, Aunt Ginny was a great Quidditch player, and you shouldn't be mean to her."

"I-I-"

"Well what do we got here? Seems like Ickle Little Ronnie is afraid of his charming daughter."

"...maybe she remembers him of somebody else..."

"You're probably right, Fred."

Ron was the only one who didn't laugh after that, instead, he snorted and continued the way towards the pitch looking very red. "Ok, so teams of four, since Lily and Hugo are not playing that will mean that-"

"Awww come on Uncle George! We want to play. We promise we won't tell." said Hugo.

Lily nodded, "We'll be careful" she added with a hopeful smile.

"Even when I feel like breaking the rules today, I'm afraid that I'll have to decline your request. We only have eight brooms in the shed, kiddos."

"Aww yikes!" Hugo complained and sat on a log crossing his arms, Lily was with him wearing a sad face.

"And I am Uncle Fred, just by the way."

Next, George started handing brooms to everybody; when he got to Ginny he said he was expecting professional plays from her. The girl blushed again but she answered to her brother with a smile, as she still wasn't entirely convinced of the professional Quidditch player story. However, the thing that really surprised everyone was how fast Harry was able to learn his ways on the broom, it was as if he had been doing it his entire life.

"Dad's very good too, he made the Quidditch team in his first year." said James.

"Is that true? It's... incredible, no-one has done that before... at least not in a hundred years!" Ron yelled. He was staring at Harry as if he was some kind of weird bug, but a wide smile quickly replaced that. "Wicked!"

"What? I don't understand."

"It is easy Dad, we're saying you'll form part of the Quidditch team this year and that you'll be the youngest player in a century." said James. Harry looked shocked.

"But I don't know how to play it yet."

"Wait a moment, so you're saying that Harrykins here is in Gryffindor? I don't want him in another house's team if he's that good." said one of the twins.

"Yes!" said Al.

"Of course!" said James at the same time.

Cheers were heard and Ron took the opportunity to ask if he was in Gryffindor also. He seemed pretty nervous of knowing the answer, but when Rose nodded Ginny's brother almost jumped in joy.

Soon enough everybody was on their brooms, ready to play. The twins said that they would be only playing with one Keeper and three Chasers since they didn't have time for a full game, at which everyone agreed. James complained at some point that it was a shame they didn't brought back some brooms from their house.

Ginny gasped, she had completely forgotten that they had mentioned a huge house before. Ginny knew that the idea was not crazy, because the Potters were a very rich family and surely they had left everything to Harry; still the whole weight of that fact was just starting to hit Ginny. Did that meant that Ginny was rich in the future? It appeared so, but the mere idea sounded weird to her.

The girl was not the only one to notice that, since the twins and Ron threw weird looks to her, and Harry was shocked because he hadn't heard that part. He was surprised to discover that he had more than one house, and still had to live with his Muggle relatives. In fact, by the tone of this voice, it didn't seem like the boy had spent a very good time there, which really caught Ginny's attention. The idea of someone being bad to him was unthinkable to Ginny's mind, but it was obvious that he was hiding something. She really needed to find out more about him; maybe there was a way in which she could help him.

While Ginny wondered about the rest of the story Lily was talking about and about what was yet to come for Harry Potter. The girl made a mental note to ask Lily later.

"So... Potters vs Weasleys?" asked James with a grin.

Ginny gasped when she realized that those arrangements didn't put her on the Weasleys' team, she turned to look at Harry with eyes wide open. The boy turned slightly in her direction and gave her a little nervous smile, at which Ginny turned red as a tomato.

The twins raised an eyebrow, trying to say something, but they decided to let it go for now, "It does make a four vs four... What do you think Forge?" he asked turning to face his twin.

"It sounds like an uneven match, we are the only ones actively playing after all, but it is their choice if they want to lose so hard. I'm fine with it as long as they are not holding hands or something. That could be very dangerous at that height," he ended off smirking in Harry's and Ginny's direction.

Harry gaped in surprise and then he and Ginny blushed a lot. James was smirking next to them. However, Ron was not happy, and tried to argue with the twins, but they decided the team arrangement was as good as any other.

"I'm watching you" was the last thing he said before the game started. All that Ginny was able to do was throw murderous looks at him.

The game was fun and full of surprises. It turned out that Ginny was already pretty good at Quidditch and at least it was clear that she and James were the best chasers on the field. On one occasion, Harry complimented her for a very good play and the girl almost fell from her broom of the surprise. Still, Ginny managed to get control of the broom on time answering the boy with a shy nod and a smile.

"Way to go Mum!" said James a couple of times during the game.

Ginny's team was fast and very good at scoring, but they lacked a good keeper. Al and Harry tried their best, but from the first play it was easy to notice that they were like a strainer; a broomstick floating in midair could've made a better keeper. On the other hand, Ron's team supplemented the absence of a good chaser with a pretty solid defence, putting a real competition against the Potters. At the end the score was so big at both sides, that no-one really agreed on who had won the match until they reached Lily and Hugo. Both kids had been following the game very determinedly and according to them Ron's team won with an impressive score of 290 - 270.

It was not a surprise at all seeing Ron chuffed at dinner as if he had just won the real Quidditch Tournament. Ginny couldn't complain about that because her brother's joy stopped him from looking at Harry and her as if they were doing something wrong, but she also wondered how long his good mood could last.

During dinner, Ginny was able to see real smiles on her parents faces when Fred and George started talking about how good she really was at Quidditch. She was happy about it and a few encouraging words even came out of them that caused her to blush a lot. It turned out that the twins were really impressed, and they said that it was a shame that she had to wait two more years before she could try out for the team. Ginny found then an even greater surprise, because it turned out that she was going to be in Gryffindor too.

By the time she was back at her room, Ginny had already discovered that she was going to be in the team in her fourth year and that Harry would eventually be captain in his sixth. Still, the loud surprise was the announcement that Ron was going to be keeper on his fifth year, because he almost fell from his chair of the shock.

In a few words Quidditch made everyone more joyful, because when the day was over all of the people at the Burrow were in a better mood than they were when it started.

"Good night dear," said Ginny's mother with a big smile as she kissed Rose on the cheek. The girls were already in their sleep clothes inside the bed that Ginny's father had modified to fit all three of them.

"Good night Grandma."

The woman stood up from the bed after ruffling the hair of the three girls, she walked towards the door but she was soon stopped when a little voice echoed in the room, "Grandma?" asked Lily.

"Is there something wrong?"

Lily shook her head, "Can Daddy come to give me a good night kiss?" the girl asked and, from her place between both girls, Ginny's eyes grew bigger than ever.

Ginny's mother noticed this, but she smiled, "I'll go get him." she said and Lily beamed.

Panic took over Ginny at her mother's words. She was already in bed, in her ugly pyjamas, the last thing that she needed was Harry Potter coming over to see them like that. She got a weird look from her mother, trying to make her remember the words from earlier. Lily was Ginny's daughter and she needed to make things easier for her. Even so, it was very hard for her to get used to take care of this younger girl when she was pretty young too.

Moments earlier, Ginny had experienced a weird moment downstairs when James and Al hugged her before going to bed. James was even older than she was, but that didn't stop him from needing a hug from her, which was simply weird. Even Hugo had come to hug her, the boy had a sad face because her mother was not around; those boys were joyful, but that didn't mean that they weren't having a hard time. They missed their older parents, they missed the protection and love that they gave to them, and Ginny couldn't just ignore that.

She sighed and nodded slowly to her mother, although the terror hadn't left her eyes.

Ginny's mother smiled even wider, but before she left another voice stopped her, "Eh... Grandma?" said Rose.

"Yes, dear?"

The girl wasn't even looking at her, and her face was pretty red, "Could... you... ask Dad if he wants to come too?" she asked blushing.

"Of course sweetheart."

When Ginny's mother reached her husband at the bedroom's door Ginny was able to hear her, "We have grand-kids Arthur!" she whispered beaming, Ginny's father smiled back at her and closed the door.

"Good night girls" he said.

Ginny was becoming more nervous with every second that passed. It was as if she was suddenly afraid of her own bedroom door, and that was only because Harry Potter was going to cross it at any moment. When she finally heard her mother approaching, Ginny took the sheets and pulled them as high as she could until basically all that could be seen of her were her eyes.

"Come on Ron, she's only waiting for you to say good night." Ginny's mother said, and Rose turned sad at those words. Ginny's fear disappeared right away, and was turned into anger towards her brother. How could be so thick? Rose was his daughter and wasn't going to bite him or something.

"Err... Hi" said Harry suddenly when the door opened at once. Ron and Ginny's mother was right beside him.

Ginny's eyes popped open when he saw the black haired boy standing there, with his own blue pyjamas. Suddenly, the redhead girl found herself wishing that the dark of the room could hide her blushing cheeks.

"Daddy!" yelled Lily, and rushed out of the bed towards him in Ginny's old pyjamas.

"H-How... are you?"

"I'm fine Daddy, just wanted a goodnight kiss."

Harry turned red, but he nodded and dragged the girl back to the bed, where he helped her cover herself again.

"Good night, Lily, see you tomorrow." the boy said and, after hesitating briefly, he gave the girl a peek on the cheek. The boy turned bright red.

"Good night, Uncle Harry."

"Emmm... good night, Rose."

Then Harry Potter turned to the middle of the bed, where Ginny was lying with very wide eyes, "Good night, Ginny."

Ginny was blushing, but she didn't look away. The girl forced herself to answer this time, "...night..H-Harry."

The boy was initially surprised at hearing her, but he smiled once he got over it.

"Are you not going to give Mummy a kiss?" asked Lily once Harry was heading back to the door.

Harry stopped looking pale and quite shocked while Ginny turned as red as her hair, Ron was frowning again.

"Emm... he already did when you were brushing your teeth dear." answered Ginny's mother quickly, at which Harry gave a fast nod.

"Oh... why is Daddy staying on Uncle Ron's room again? And where's Aunt Hermione?"

By then Ginny knew she had never been redder in her entire life, and Harry was not far from it, "Your Dad is with Uncle Ron because they are having a boys camp there until your aunt returns." answered Ginny's mother.

"Oh... ok"

After the awkward moment Ron gave Rose the weirdest of the good nights. Ginny couldn't help noticing that the girl was still looking sad.

"Sorry... Ron is always like that." Ginny said to her niece once that they were left alone again.

"He's not, not with me." Rose answered in a gloomy mood, and Ginny gave her a weak smile.

Ginny dreamed again of Harry Potter that night, but this time it was slightly different because just before the usual kiss a little girl pulled from her arm, and that little girl was Lily. Ginny woke up instantly and was startled when she found out that the real Lily was bouncing all over her, trying to wake her up. It took a few moments to remember all of the events from the day before and realize that everything had been real; she was married to Harry Potter, she had kids wandering around, and one of them was older than she was.

"Mum, Mum, I'm hungry!"

"I-It's very e-early..." mumbled Ginny looking out of the window.

"But Daddy is going to be downstairs preparing breakfast! Let's go, I'm hungry..."

"He will?" asked Ginny.

"Yes! come on!" Lily insisted and ended up dragging Ginny and Rose out of the bed, even when both girls really wanted to sleep a little longer.

Lily hurried Ginny all the time that it took her to get dressed, insisting that she should go down in her sleepwear at which Ginny obviously refused. She was not going to go downstairs like that as long as Harry Potter was sleeping at the Burrow. Rose didn't felt that way though, because she took the opportunity to keep sleeping until Ginny finished dressing up.

Moments later, all three of them entered the kitchen with Ginny and Rose still yawning, but Harry Potter was not there. In fact, only Ginny's mother was there, as usual.

"Oh Hi, you're up early dear" she said to Ginny.

"Lily woke us up!" Rose complained.

The little redhead girl didn't seem to hear her cousin, because she moved her head around and then she talked to her grandmother, "Grandma, where's Daddy?"

"He hasn't come down dear, not yet. Is there a problem?"

"Oh... no, it's just that-"

But Lily didn't got a chance to finish her sentence, because at that moment Harry and Al entered the kitchen, "Errr... Hi, sorry to be here so early Mrs. Weasley. Ron didn't wake up and Al was hungry so-" said Harry.

"I told you Uncle Ron was not going to wake up so early, the same thing with Hugo." added Al.

"Don't worry Harry, Ron will be here when the food is ready." said Ginny's mother.

"Good morning, Daddy!"

"Em... Good morning, Lily." said Harry and then greeted everybody else. When it was Ginny's turn the girl blushed but she did answer quietly, at which Harry smiled.

"Err.. Mrs. Weasley?" asked the boy then.

"Yes dear?"

"Do you know someone named Sirius? Someone related to me?" he asked in a sober tone. Ginny was surprised because her mother paled and almost dropped a plate at that question, which was pretty odd.

"Sirius!? Why? Where did you hear that name?"

"James, well Al, he said James' second name is Sirius." the boy said, then the look on his face grew even more serious. "Is he really my godfather?"


	5. A War to Come

**I want to thank Jetsun1119 again for the help with this chap.**

* * *

**RON**

Ron was having a very pleasant sleep when he heard the first yell from his mother. The boy always enjoyed sleeping through the morning and he was finding it especially hard to leave his bed at the moment.

He couldn't remember why, but the night before he had gone to bed feeling kind of weary. Ron thought it was better to remain in his bed which was comfortable enough and there were no worries for him there; no kids from the future, no weird girls with bushy hair, no shifty letters.

Just another common morning at the Burrow. Just him and his orange room and his old rat and...

Ron had barely opened his eyes when he was shocked by what he saw. Leaning against him on the bed there was a younger boy with a bright red hair who appeared to be asleep. For a moment Ron gaped since he couldn't understand what that boy was doing there, but eventually memories came back to him about the previous day and he paled. All of it was real.

"RON! HUGO! Breakfast is ready!" Ron's mother yelled loudly again.

Hugo, his name was Hugo. His son.

Slowly the boy stirred next to him and started rising a bit. Ron was startled as the boy yawned and looked at him with his same blue eyes.

"Where's Uncle Harry? And Al?" the boy asked. He was using a pair of Ron's oldest pyjamas.

Something more clicked on Ron's head then. Harry Potter and his son had been there too, he remembered something blurry about it. "Th-They went dow-downstairs" he said. Ron recalled them asking him to go down too, but it had been way too early to even pay attention to them.

A couple of days before he had thought that Harry Potter was an amazing hero whom maybe he would be able to meet. His mother said that they were around the same age after all. Still he was only an idea; Ron didn't imagined him as a real boy of his age, not until he saw him the previous morning. Ron was now confused about it.

Supposedly, Harry Potter was going to be his best friend, and he kind of believed it after spending some time with him; however, there was the whole Ginny thing. Somehow he didn't like that even when he knew that none of it was Harry's fault.

"Aren't we going too? I'm hungry" Hugo said, bringing Ron out of his thoughts. The boy had stepped out of bed.

Ron nodded, still staring at his seven year old son. He realized he was hungry also.

"RON! HUGO!"

"Coming Mum!" Ron yelled back.

After dressing, they both walked down to the kitchen, Ron couldn't stop giving weird looks at Hugo now and then as they moved through all the stories of the house. He didn't have an idea of what to say to the boy, but Hugo kept asking him about things that were different in the Burrow. It was difficult to know if he understood what was really going on.

When they reached the table everybody was already seated, including Harry Potter who was next to his sister again. Ron couldn't find anything to say, the boy's expression was dark and foreign as if he was not there at all. Actually, no one looked normal, they were all dead serious; even the twins, which was something to worry about. Percy and James seemed tense and Ron's mother was clearly nervous. The only one who smiled when Ron arrived was the bushy haired girl, Rose.

"Good morning Dad!" she quickly said, "Good morning Hugo"

It was as if a lightning bolt hit him at that moment. Yes, she was his daughter too, but the mere thought made him a lot more uneasy than Hugo did. She looked so much like her. So far, Ron had made it without thinking about that girl, but looking at Rose it was quite hard not to; Ron even blushed a bit at the memory. He couldn't be married, much less to a girl who only frowned at him. Ron was afraid of even thinking her name: Hermione.

"Err... g-good... morning" he answered back and got a weak smile from the girl. More greetings were given, but all of them kind of sad, less enthusiastic; especially from Harry. Something was very off.

Slowly, Ron and Hugo took a couple of seats next to James, and his mother put plates in front of them. Most of the people were halfway through their breakfasts already. Harry clearly had been staring at his plate for a while, and Ron noticed that the boy hadn't touched much of it.

"Where's Dad?" Ron asked.

"He's trying to contact Professor Dumbledore, dear. He'll be here soon."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "Professor Dumbledore? but wh-what... why?" he was confused, he really didn't want any more surprises today.

"Well, my dear brother, it appears Harrykins has a godfather... in Azkaban" one of the twins said without a trace of a smile.

Ron's jaw dropped, staring at Harry who didn't seem to react, Ginny was looking sadly at him, "-and our nephew here is named after him," the other finished.

"Hey! It is a great name." James replied.

"He is a criminal though," said Percy.

"He is not! He did great- amazing things!"

Percy didn't seem to care the boy looked upset, "Not legal things obviously, when one is in Azkaban that means that-"

"It means rubbish! He is innocent! He didn't do anything wrong. Everyone knows that!" James was really upset now, his face growing red. "The Ministry screwed up!"

Percy made a face of being offended, but before he had a chance to answer, Ron's mother spoke, "Enough! I don't want anyone more arguing about it."

"He's calling Dad's godfather a criminal and I know he's not. He fought against Voldemort." James said desperately and almost everyone from the present flinched. Only Harry remained still but unable to say a thing, his wide green eyes were set on his son.

"We'll discuss this when your grandfather brings the headmaster here, I don't want to hear more of it until then."

James grimaced but he nodded, still frowning at Percy.

The silence was uncomfortable. James and Percy were glaring at each other and everybody else seemed lost, including the kids. Harry looked especially sad.

Ron couldn't believe Harry had a godfather in Azkaban, he must have done a really bad thing to be there. Ron had only met Harry for a day but he was nice and Ron kind of felt sorry for him. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything to say to the boy. Ron was supposed to be his friend, so why was Ginny seated at his side instead of him?

"I don't get it," said Al after a while, "James' name is never the problem."

"You don't have a bad name either Al." said Rose with a weird look.

"Wait, what's your name then?" one of the twins asked the black haired kid.

The boy seemed doubtful about whether to answer or not but his little sister did it for him. "His name is Albus Severus Potter" Lily said grinning.

The name didn't have any affect on Ron, but Percy raised an eyebrow and George - or Fred - coughed, the twin almost choked with the chunk of food he had in his mouth.

"WHAT!" both twins shouted.

"You're joking right?" asked Fred, "I thought you said Harry was in Gryffindor"

"He was!"

"Then why name his son after that Slytherin git?!"

"GEORGE! You shouldn't talk of a professor like that," Ron's mother yelled with a glare, she turned to Al who had moved his eyes down, "Don't worry dear, Severus is a good name. Don't pay attention to their nonsense!"

Ron was still puzzled, and apparently so was Harry. The boy looked around trying to understand things, "Severus? I don't get it" he said in a low voice, moving his green eyes around.

"He's a professor at Hogwarts, Harry," Ron's mother tried to explain, "maybe he left quite an impact on you, I can't answer much there, dear. You might have even named him after a different person with the same name."

Rose was shaking her head, "No, it was their professor." she said and most of the kids nodded.

"Bravest man you ever met," James interrupted, looking at Harry, his face still serious, "According to... well you"

Fred snorted, "Yeah right-"

"-bravery gushes out of that one."

Ron saw his mother glaring at the twins, like warning them.

If some else was going to speak, Ron couldn't find out, because at that exact moment his father entered the kitchen, "Found him, he'll be here soon." he said.

Indeed, a few seconds later a loud knock echoed from the main door, and after exchanging a quick look with his wife, Ron's father walked out of the kitchen. Everyone hurried out to the living room, not paying much attention to the complains from Ron's mother. They were all curious about what was going on.

"... and where are our time travellers?" The large figure of Albus Dumbledore was striding besides Ron's father, his calm blue eyes scanning the little group.

"Sorry for making you come in such a hurry Albus, you must realize that we were worried,"

"It's not a problem Arthur, my schedule is very busy even on a Sunday, I'm afraid. Still, I imagine that little things are as important as this one," the old wizard turned around and found James' eyes, "So, if I got your message correctly this is about... Sirius Black?" he asked, his features hard.

"Wait! They shouldn't be here, this is not a topic for children." Ron's mother interrupted.

Complains from the twins and Harry started to form, but before they could finish what they were trying to say, the headmaster spoke again, "Molly if I may have a say, I think it would not make much of a difference for them to leave."

"Albus! We are talking about S-Sirius Black here!"

"I know, but it wouldn't help a lot to hide things from Harry or your children, in the current situation. I have a feeling our time travellers will surely tell them everything after we talk anyhow; they're their parents after all."

"We can ask them to not tell them!" Ron's mother insisted.

"We could certainly do that, but I don't think that would work in the long term, a child trust his parents more than anybody else. But don't worry, I don't plan on asking complicated things, just quick facts that people already seem to know."

Ron's mother seemed willing to argue, but she was stopped, "Molly dear, I think he's right. They already know Sirius Black is Harry's godfather, and that he is paying for his crimes in Azkaban." said Ron's father. His wife nodded reluctantly, and the twins exchanged triumphant looks.

They all took seats facing Professor Dumbledore, James and Percy still throwing frowns at each other as they did. Ron didn't know what all of this was about, were they going to find out why Harry named his son after a prisoner that he didn't know?

"First, I know you have discussed this... person," the headmaster started looking with his piercing blue eyes at Harry, "How much do you know about him?"

"Is he really my godfather?"

Albus Dumbledore had an expression that Ron couldn't understand, after a moment the old man nodded, "I'm afraid so, my boy."

"But that's... why him?... I don't know him, he never came to see me. What did he do?" Harry looked overwhelmed.

"He was named your godfather after you were born because he happened to be a very close friend of your parents, from your father especially."

Many gasps echoed around.

"Then why he never went to see me? No one ever mentioned him," Harry's face turned dark, "wh-why is he in that prison?"

"Harry dear..." Ron's mother started in a sad tone, but Professor Dumbledore raised a hand to tell her that it was ok.

"He never went to see you because he was sent to Azkaban shortly after your parents died." the wizard said calmly.

Percy looked to be paying a lot of attention, but it was Fred who spoke, he looked as pale as a ghost, "Bu-But... that's what? Ten years?"

When the headmaster nodded, Ginny gasped.

"Blimey! That's way too long" said George.

"Long sentences are given to dangerous criminals, that's what needs to be done," said Percy. Even so, he looked pale.

"What did he do?" Harry looked totally serious.

"Albus..." Ron's father began.

"No Arthur, he already knows about him, there is no point in hiding why he was sent to that horrible place," the headmaster said. "Harry, your godfather was a Death Eater, which is the name given to Voldemort followers. He was caught right after his master's downfall."

People flinched and people gasped. Ron couldn't believe it. Harry's godfather who was a close friend to his parents, worked for You-Know-Who? But Harry's parents were killed by him. The red haired boy shivered.

Harry was stunned, and Ron saw his mother was more nervous than ever, "He worked for him? B-But my parents..." the black haired boy asked.

"They didn't know." Professor Dumbledore said sadly.

Ron was looking uneasily at his future friend not knowing what to think. He knew that Harry had a tragic story, but he never saw it like that. As they grew up Harry Potter was always an inspiring story, a story of hope to make people feel good about things. That was not what he was seeing now. Harry was clenching his fists and one could see that he was not happy. The whole weight of the boy's past hit Ron then; it was a story of happiness for the Wizarding World but not for everyone, not for Harry.

Unconsciously, he walked a little towards the boy, he didn't say a thing. Ginny was very close, and she looked like she could cry any moment now.

"But he was their friend!" Harry's yell echoed in the living room, and now even Ron's mother seemed close to tears. The kids looked very troubled, especially Lily who moved closer to Ginny and was now hugging her. Ginny didn't seem to notice.

"I'm so sorry, my boy."

"He was a traitor! They trusted him!" Harry shouted one more time, but now he got an answer.

"He was not!" James answered frowning, but as soon as he noticed that he had shouted at Harry his features softened, and he lowered his voice, "I-I mean... h-he's innocent. You know that. You're all supposed to know that..." the boy sounded helpless as he moved his eyes around looking for support.

"Maybe they don't know yet." Rose said doubtfully to her cousin.

"That's a bold statement, my boy," Albus Dumbledore said to James.

"It's a lie, he wouldn't be in Azkaban if he were innocent," Percy insisted snorting.

"It is not! He is really innocent!" James yelled again.

Ron heard another voice, it was Al's and he looked quite troubled too, "James is right, Dad's godfather was innocent. The Ministry knows that, that's why he escaped Azkaban."

Gasps echoed around the room once more.

"He escaped!?" Ron's mother looked very pale.

"That's impossible!"

Rose looked around confused, "He hasn't, not yet I believe. He escaped in Mum's and Dad's third year." Ron blushed a bit at the way Rose talked about him and that girl who Ron just met.

"It's not like I believe someone can escape from Azkaban, but either way, escaping does not mean being innocent! The exact opposite." Percy said frowning.

"But he is! He didn't have a trial! He didn't kill all of those people!" James was now standing up.

More shocked reactions took place, "You see Albus, that's why I didn't want them here-"

"H-He killed people?" Ron asked, close to him Harry had his eyes wide opened.

"Please, I urge you to remain calm." Albus Dumbledore's voice silenced everyone else's, he was still looking at James. "We need more information on this matter, my boy. There were witnesses."

"It doesn't matter, it was all fake." the black haired boy said, "He was not the Secret Keeper."

Ron was confused about what the Secret Keeper meant, and so were many people around the living room; maybe Percy knew, but his parents and Professor Dumbledore were the only ones who sobered up.

"Secret Keeper?" someone asked.

"It is a very complex protective spell, but I'll get to that," the headmaster was looking deeply at James, "Go on." he said.

James was startled but he continued, "He was not the Secret Keeper." he started doubtfully, looking at his brother and cousin for support. "My grandparents changed it at the last moment without saying it to anyone. Dad's godfather suggested it, he thought that Teddy's father was the traitor, but he was wrong."

"Teddy?" asked the one of the twins.

"Teddy Lupin, Uncle Harry's godson." Rose said.

Lily was nodding since she finally understood something, "Teddy is nice," she whispered to Ginny. The girl had been looking sad, probably because she sensed the dreadful mood in the room, but when she recognized the name a smile appeared on her face.

Silence reigned, it was obvious that only the headmaster could understand something of what was going on, "Who do you think was the Potters' Secret Keeper?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"The rat," Hugo whispered to Ron. The boy had spoken in such a low voice that only Ron and Al were able to hear him.

"What?" Ron asked.

"The rat, they always call him that." Al was whispering as well, not wanting to interrupt the headmaster.

The headmaster didn't seem to listen to that exchange, he pressed James more seriously. "Peter Pettigrew is dead, Sirius Black killed him."

"He didn't kill him, Pettigrew faked his death. He cut his own finger and killed all of those people. He framed Sirius Black."

Albus Dumbledore exchanged some looks with Ron's father and sighed heavily. Then the man proceeded to explain about the Fidelius charm and more things popped out. He hadn't talked about it initially since he thought it would be too hard for Harry to actually know that Sirius Black was who gave his parents away to You-Know-Who. Dumbledore changed his mind though, he seemed to be seriously considering the kids' words.

"This can't be real, the Ministry has a lot of tools to guarantee the correct execution of justice." Percy added, "I've read many things about it, an innocent man cannot go to Azkaban."

"I'd rather be sure here than to trust on the Ministry entirely Mr. Weasley," the headmaster answered, "Especially if blind trust in the Ministry could mean that an innocent man has been locked down at a despicable place for ten years."

Percy couldn't find his voice, he nodded looking pink.

"I don't get it, is he innocent then?" Harry looked troubled.

"I don't expect you to understand everything of this Harry, it has been a lot of information. I am not sure of it myself." Dumbledore was looking at James over his half moon spectacles, analysing him.

"Who's Peter Pettigrew?"

"Another friend of your parents, not the most obvious choice for Secret Keeper, which makes me wonder," the old wizard turned to James one more time, "If you are saying the truth, do you know where we can find Mr. Pettigrew?"

James shrugged, "All I know is that he was very close to Uncle Ron for some time before Dad's godfather escaped."

Ron was shocked, to him? He didn't know anyone by that name. Was he close to him now?

"WHAT?! Here?!" Ron's mother yelled.

"Calm down sweetheart, we don't know if this is true yet. And even if it is, well, James could be referring to someone Ron meets at Hogwarts, or at the town... we do go there occasionally." said Ron's father. He was referring to Ottery St. Catchpole, the town close to the Burrow. The Weasleys went there once in a while to buy food or simply to get to know the Muggle way of life. Would Ron meet Pettigrew there?

"But what if this is true, Arthur? What if this Peter Pettigrew is still alive and around us? If he really framed someone to go ten years in to prison then... then... what?"

"Then he would be the real Death Eater that we were looking for ten years ago," said Professor Dumbledore calmly but looking worried, "He would be the traitor and we would have sent an innocent man for an unbearable time to Azkaban."

"Oh Merlin!" Ron's mother yelled covering her mouth.

"That's impossible!" Percy insisted.

"It is improbable," corrected the headmaster, "But so is a time travel like this one, and here we are, talking to these lovely visitors. I must say that I would be doubting this if it came from someone else's mouth."

"So what now Albus? What are we supposed to do?"

"Keep your eyes open, put heavier wards on the house and let me know if you see anything strange. Don't go to town for the time being. I'll request a personal audience with Mr. Black after the Marriage hearing is over."

Ron saw that his parents didn't look quite convinced about that, and the boy was troubled too. Why was this Peter Pettigrew close to him? Why had they mentioned him and not one of his brothers? There was something not right about the whole thing. And Sirius Black? Was he really innocent? Could a man really pay ten years for a crime he didn't do?

"Blimey! So you can free him sooner?" James asked excitedly.

"If he is really innocent I wouldn't like him to spend one more second in prison, but this is not an easy thing. We don't have proof other than your words, not yet."

"Oh." James said sounding disappointed.

Al walked close to his brother, "Don't worry James, he'll be out either way in a couple of years."

"But those are two years Al! You heard how horrible Azkaban is now."

The black haired boy looked saddened. "Well yeah, but he'll be out in time for the fight against Voldemort." A lot of people flinched.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Ron's mother yelled, and everyone else looked stunned except for the headmaster who only raised his eyebrows.

"Sorry Grandma, did I say something wrong?" Al asked.

"Repeat it."

"Eh...? well I said that he will be out in time..." the boy started and when he saw that they were still looking at him he continued, "...to fight Voldermort?" people flinched again. Ron wished that they could just stop saying the name.

"H-H-He is dead, You-Know-Who is dead" Ron's mother said, as pale as every other face in the room.

The kids shook their heads sadly, "Not now, he'll come back at the end of their fourth year, Uncle Harry will fight him for the first time then." said Rose.

"Wasn't the first time when he was a baby?" Hugo asked.

"That doesn't count, he couldn't fight back."

"But-"

"WAIT!" Ron's mother stopped them, "Are you saying that Yo-Youu-Know-Who is really going to return? In what... three? four years?"

All the kids from the future nodded and Ron saw his mother almost collapsing on the couch. Fortunately her husband caught her in time.

The kids continued telling of all kinds of things about what great feats they were going to do in the next years, and Ron's eyes grew huge. Spiders? Death Eaters? Dragons? This was all madness! Ron felt like he was going to pass out. Close to him, Ginny had her brown eyes wide open, also the twins were looking proudly at him.

During that time the headmaster kept asking questions and changing the subject at what appeared to be more delicate topics. He looked quite intrigued; worried at moments, but he never seemed to find the things that they were saying untruthful. Percy was paler than ever, but it was not very noticeable since most of the people in the room were like that.

"This is very complex, I didn't expect to come here and have this conversation," Professor Dumbledore said after a while, "It seems like I have plenty of things to discuss with these young children, but now is not the time. We have more urgent things to attend to."

"Are you saying that you really believe them!?" Ron's mother erupted, "You say that there is really going to be a war in a few years and we all going to fight in it? Even my young children?"

"I haven't found any reason to doubt them Molly."

For a brief moment Ron saw his mother struggling with the words, but she finally gained some colour in her face, "And you say that's not urgent!?"

"Molly please..."

"Arthur! You are hearing him too! I'm not going to let my kids fight for their lives! Not that young especially!" Then out of nowhere the woman broke in tears, "You know what happened to them... to Gi-Gideon and.. Fa.."

"I know dear, I am as worried as you are, but yelling is not going to solve anything..."

Ron moved his worried eyes around as he saw his father hugging his mother. Everyone was stunned, even the twins. So if they were telling the truth, and so far there was nothing that pointed that they weren't, then there was going to be a war. Another war, against You-Know-Who... and he was going to take part of it. Ron felt his own legs shake.

Not far away, Harry was looking just as shocked; he appeared like he didn't know if he was supposed to say something. So he was really fighting You-Know-Who again, it seemed unbelievable. He was only a boy, not much different from Ron.

"Yes, it appears like there is a war coming," Dumbledore made it official. "Even so we can still do many things about it. Be more prepared. It is also a few years away, so even while it is very important, it is not the most urgent thing right now."

"How can you say that?" Ron's mother was gaining strength again, "I don't care about being prepared, I don't want a war to come!"

"We'll see how much we can avoid of it, after the hearing. I'll come again to have a longer conversation with your grandchildren then. You don't need to worry though, you are looking at them, things turned up all right in their timeline and I'll plan for everything to go just as well this time." said the headmaster.

She didn't look convinced but her husband calmed her down. "He is right dear, we need to talk about the hearing. We have plenty of time to work around this... this war. Right Albus?" the old man nodded.

After things calmed down, they talked about what to do. Albus Dumbledore said he didn't have time to ask anything more of the kids, and he urged them to not ask themselves. He was going to keep planning the Marriage hearing and starting to look at the Sirius Black case. Dumbledore also said that there was nothing to worry about, the wards he placed at the Burrow when Harry arrived should be more than enough to keep Pettigrew away. The headmaster just insisted that nobody leave the house, at least not for the time being.

"I think that will be all," the old wizard said and he turned to Harry, Ron and Ginny. The redhead boy was startled for a moment, "You shouldn't be worried about tomorrow's hearing. We have everything planned." Ron's father nodded.

"Are you going to be there, sir?" asked Harry.

"Of course Harry, of course."

"When can we check about my godfather?" Suddenly Harry was not sad anymore, he even looked hopeful.

"Leave that to me; I assure you that if your godfather is innocent, I'll do everything I can to bring him out." Harry smiled weakly.

The headmaster headed to the door, but before getting out of their sight he turned and spoke, looking mostly at James and Rose, "You shouldn't say anything of this to the Ministry. If the Ministry can react as badly as you are telling me, it would be better to keep them away."

Percy looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't dare.

"Nothing about war, nothing about Sirius Black, unless we tell you so. Don't lie, we'll stop any question if we know it is improper," the man continued, "They can't force you to answer, you are only children who haven't done any crime. It is up to you, your brothers are going to be there, but we won't allow any questions to be directed at them"

James and Rose nodded nervously.

Then the headmaster was gone and they were left with doubts as big as the day before. Not as much embarrassment this time, but a lot of nervousness.

Ron's father tried to calm them, he said everything was going to be all right and that they wouldn't allow anything to happen. Ron felt better at his words but Percy headed back to his room still doubting James, they glared at each other.

The day was passing slowly and everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Even Fred and George were not joking as much as they always did.

To lighten up the mood, they decided to go back to play some Quidditch in the afternoon. It relaxed them a bit but they played very distracted. James and Harry seemed to be in some other place, their hearts were not into it, and neither was Ginny's. Ron's sister didn't blush as much as during last game, but instead she kept throwing sad looks at Harry and James.

At the end Ron's team was able to win by a huge margin, but he wasn't in the mood of celebrating loudly.

He was thinking of that hearing. Ron was going to see Hermione again, and that frightened him as much as any war. He wondered how that hearing would turn out; they hadn't done anything wrong and the Ministry couldn't blame them, right? It was not like they could serve ten years in Azkaban for having their kids travel back from the future.

After the game, Ginny escaped to her bedroom looking red, and the twins moved their own way too. Ron, Harry, James, Al and Hugo walked to the fifth floor room to talk about Quidditch, but Harry decided to voice something he had surely been asking himself all day long.

"So… Peter Pettigrew? Do you know where he could be?" he asked Ron.

"Of course not, you heard me when they asked about it. Never heard of him before."

"That rat!" James added, frowning.

"What?" Harry asked. He hadn't heard that during the morning's conversation.

"I think it's a nickname they have for him," said Ron.

Al nodded, "They don't talk much about him, but they sometimes call him that."

"Well, he's not here. The only rat around is _Scabbers_, and I'm pretty sure he's not this man."

"Oh."

As they stepped into the room Ron looked out of the window on the other wall. Maybe somewhere out there, Peter Pettigrew was moving around, keeping an eye on him. He shivered.

Harry was thinking something alike. "Peter Pettigrew is around here, somewhere." he said.

"We'll find him, you'll see!" James said.

Squeals echoed in the room and Ron noticed that Scabbers was impatient so he went to look at him. He had been in his family for way too long and was always sick-looking. Ron needed to take care of him constantly, the rat was even missing one finger. Something came to Ron then, an odd feeling; he felt like there was something important that he should know, but he was not sure what it was yet.

"I just don't get Uncle Percy, he's not usually like that." Al said.

"Maybe he is only upset about something," Hugo added.

James frowned while Ron answered, "Don't pay him any attention, he's just a boring git." Ron was opening the rat's cage now, and Al and Hugo let themselves fall into one of the beds, exhausted.

"Don't worry Dad, he's innocent. We are sure, we come from the future after all." James was grinning, and Harry gave a weak smile in return.

Ron grabbed the rat in his hands; it was really unsettled. The redhead boy wanted to say something good to Harry, he was going to be his friend after all, or maybe he already was his friend. "It's all right Harry, maybe things are quick and we free Sirius Black tomorrow at the hearing," the redhead boy said, "Now let's take this rat out of here, he needs to see the sun a bit and-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence.

At that moment, Ron felt his hand falling with the weight of the rat, and after a weird sound the rat was not there anymore. In its place a short fat man had appeared. He had a pale skin and was balding already, his bulging eyes were moving around uncontrollably.

Then, in a swift movement, the man grabbed Ron by the neck and started searching through his pockets.

"Who the hell are you?! Where's Scabbers?" Ron managed to say. Harry and James were shocked, but they soon rushed to them trying to help Ron; they were not strong enough though, and the man kicked them aside. Hugo and Al, who were lying on the bed with wide fearful eyes, started yelling.

"Where is it? Where is it?" the man said still looking through Ron's pockets, the boy didn't know what he was talking about and tried to kick him; but aside from some low whimpers, it didn't look like he was doing much harm to the man.

"Who are you?! Mum! Dad!... take your bloody hands off of me!" the boy knew his mother wouldn't like that kind of talking, but it didn't felt like it really mattered at that moment.

"Let him go!" Harry was on his feet again, struggling with the man, but he was kicked to one side of the room again.

Then the man saw something, Harry's trunk, and he raced after it still holding Ron. With one hand he moved things quickly and eventually found Harry's wand and pulled it out. Maybe that was what the man was looking for in his pockets, but Ron didn't have a wand yet, they had postponed their shopping trip. Harry kept his in his trunk of course because there was no point in carrying it; he didn't know any spells yet.

Al and Hugo were pulling on the man's arms now, all the while yelling for help. "Step aside you noisy kids!" he said heading to the door. At that moment, he noticed Harry in a different way; the boy was standing up again and so was James, but Harry's hair was thrown back and his scar was quite visible.

"Let go of Ron and give me my wand back!"

The man pointed Harry's wand at the black haired boy and they all gasped. Everything seemed to slow down.

It was then that Fred and George appeared at the door, "Hey Mum wants to know what's all the fuss about... HEY! Who the hell are you?" Ron heard from his back and then both twins pushed at the man. They moved him just in time for the light that he fired to crash against the wall behind Harry and a big hole appeared on the wall. Everyone had very wide eyes; he had tried to hurt Harry.

"Merlin!" one of the twins yelled.

Soon, the man found himself surrounded. He still had Harry's wand but there were just too many kids trying to tackle him in that small room. As the man stumbled, Ron got a glimpse of the twins pulling out their wands, but the man did too and he fired again, still gripping Ron. In all the commotion the next thing that Ron noticed was an explosion and yells... then Ron was carried out of the room and downstairs. The last thing he saw was the hallway falling to pieces, one of the twins on the floor with a heavy piece of wood above him, everybody else was trying to help him.

"RON!"

"DAD!"

"Uncle Ron!"

He heard voices in the distance as he struggled to break free, "Let go of me! Let go of me you stupid... fat... person!"

On the first floor a door swung open, Rose's and Ginny's faces were visible to Ron.

"What's going on?" Rose asked.

The man fired off another spell, and the girls ducked back inside the room, their screams adding to the general cacophony.

"You bloody git! Why did you do that!?" Ron kicked harder than ever and he even bit the filthy arm of the man. The short man screamed of course, but he answered with a solid punch on Ron's face, then he moved Harry's wand forward again. Ron yelled in pain.

They found Ron's parents at the ground floor, they had heard the shouts and were ready to run upstairs, but they stopped in surprise when they saw the man. Ron's father pulled his wand out immediately.

"Who are you!? Let go of my son!"

"They hit one of the twins! And Rose!" Ron said with tears in his eyes as best as he could, the man stopped in front of his parents.

"Oh Merlin! Arthur!" Ron's mother shouted looking at Ron, surely at the place where the man had hit him. The boy felt a hot stream of blood coming down from his forehead.

"Let go of him!"

"Step aside!" The man answered shooting a green beam from Harry's wand. Fortunately, at that moment Harry and James came bolting out of nowhere and tackled the man. The green light passed just inches away from Ron's parents.

"Arthur was that...!?" Ron's mother looked terrified.

Ron was released, so Harry and James pulled him away from the man. Although, the man soon stood up and moved his wand between them and Ron's parents, unable to decide who to attack first. Ron closed his eyes completely when he thought that the man was going to fire again, but he heard a different voice.

"Stupefy!" the voice yelled and a loud thud echoed in the room.

When Ron opened his eyes again, the man was lying unconscious on the floor, and someone was standing at the base of the stairway with his wand raised. His blue eyes were wide as Bludgers and the hand that was gripping his wand was shaking.

"Oh Percy!" Ron's mother yelled almost crying.


	6. The Marriage Hearing

**Thanks to Jetsun1119 for the valuable help putting this chap in shape.**

* * *

**ARTHUR**

The journey to the Grangers' house was very quick, but still filled with nervousness. Arthur knew that all the madness of the previous two days was not anyone's fault, but he couldn't keep from worrying about what could happen at the Ministry.

He would have preferred that this was only about the kids. Molly would be much more at ease with that, although the future seemed a much darker place after what happened the day before.

"Oh, hello Mr. Weasley, good morning. You're early." Hermione's mother looked serious as she opened the door.

"Good morning to you too Mrs. Granger. I'm really sorry, but we want to have a small chat with all of them first, preparations about what can they expect and what they should say. Nothing to worry about," he replied politely and was led to the living room.

Hermione, his daughter-in-law, was already waiting for him next to her father, even though Arthur had arrived a little sooner than expected. They seemed to be rather nervous too. The redheaded man stared at the girl for a moment; she was way too young to be part of a war and, if James was right, she would still be young once it was over. She was only a child- they all were.

They definitely needed to prevent all of it from happening.

Arthur was taken out of his worried thoughts when Hermione greeted him, and he tried to answer as kindly as possible. Of course her parents insisted that they wanted to be at the hearing, but Arthur hadn't received an answer from the Ministry. It was a short notice after all and just after a weekend.

"I'll take care of her as if she were my own daughter John, I promise," he said trying to give them some kind of calm. He knew that in their position he would be asking to be there too.

Some more words were exchanged, mostly the Grangers' doubts about the process, and when Arthur convinced them that nothing bad was going to happen at the hearing, they ended up nodding. He didn't mention that there were things ahead much more dangerous than a simple clarification hearing.

"We'll be back in a few hours, I'll bring Rose and Hugo" he said as he extended his arm to Hermione. It was a shame that they hadn't had the time to arrange the Floo connection either.

After explaining all about side-along apparition and its uncomfortable effects, Hermione grabbed his arm reluctantly and waved her parents a good bye. They gave a few last encouraging words to them, and with a weak nod the redhead man and the bushy haired girl disappeared from the house.

The chilly morning air of the countryside covered them quickly; the sun hadn't had time to spread its warmness around. Arthur turned to the girl who was not holding his arm anymore, she was stumbling and shaking her head as he expected; the first time with apparition was never good. Looking at her, he wondered again about what was yet to come. She needed to know, the kids would tell her eventually.

"Is this is your house, sir?" were the first words out of her mouth.

Arthur gave her a kind smile, he had told them that they were going to Floo to the Ministry from the Burrow, since the connection couldn't be set on their house. "Yours too, this is the Burrow. You will always be welcomed here"

"Thank you," she said quietly.

They walked the short distance to the Burrow with Hermione asking a lot of questions of how the house kept standing in its place. For her it seemed unbelievable that the oddly placed stories were as solid as a rock. Arthur of course answered all of her doubts with a smile, she was really curious about all the spells used and what each of them did.

Once on the yard, the man took a deep breath, "Hermione?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"

"Something happened yesterday, and we found a lot of things about the future."

"What things?" the girl asked.

"Many, most of them not good." he noticed that he caught Hermione's attention even more. "Nothing to worry about, for now, but the future could be a very difficult place. I believe you have to know, since eventually the kids will tell you. We would answer all of your questions. You will see what I'm talking about once that we're inside."

Hermione nodded seriously.

No one was around when they opened the door, but it didn't take long for Molly to appear; her face still showed a lot of worry but she tried to smile when she looked at the girl.

"Oh you must be Hermione, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Molly, Ron's mother," she said to the girl.

Hermione blushed a bit, but she gave her a polite answer, "Nice to meet you too Mrs. Weasley"

The last hours, Arthur had been looking differently at his wife. It was really hard to imagine what could have happened if that man's curse had hit anyone of them or even one of their children. The thought was unbearable.

"Are they ready?" he asked her.

"They're just finishing breakfast," Molly answered, turning to Hermione, "Let's go to the kitchen, have you had breakfast already, dear?"

"Yes Mrs. Weasley, thanks."

"Well come on in either way, this is your house. You need to grab a glass of juice at least."

The table was more cheerful than the day before, which was not saying much. Almost everyone was there still asking Percy about the whole thing. Arthur couldn't be more proud of his son, he didn't know what would had happened if he hadn't arrived on time.

At Arthur's side, Hermione seemed confused with the whole noise, there were probably more people than she expected.

"Is Fred not awake yet?" the man asked in a low voice to his wife.

"He's still in bed, but he is already taking breakfast. George is with him," Molly said sadly. "He looks a lot better, only a couple of bones that need to recover." Arthur smiled; at least everyone was all right.

The table stopped talking when they heard them. "Grandpa!" Lily yelled next to Harry, she was trying to grab Arthur's attention and he waved back of course, smiling.

Rose and Hugo came to them in a hurry and they were soon embracing Hermione in a tight hug. The girl looked overwhelmed, but she gave them her good mornings. When Lily noticed that, she came rushing to meet her too, with Al and James just behind her.

"These are Lily, Al and James," Arthur said to Hermione, "They are your niece and nephews. Ginny's children," he finished looking at his daughter.

Ginny and Hermione waved at each other awkwardly, surely thinking about the weirdness of the situation they shared. Arthur introduced Percy to Hermione and after that he saw Ron trying to hide behind his brother, "... and you already know Ron."

Hermione nodded, "Yes, hi," she said looking red and Ron answered with a shy gesture. Hugo, who had been sitting next to Ron, took her to the table and gave his seat to her gladly, which made Ron and Hermione blush even redder.

"We have four other sons," Arthur continued once the girl was at her seat. Molly put a juice glass next to her. "Bill and Charlie already finished Hogwarts, they live abroad. Fred suffered an injury yesterday and George is with him upstairs, they're twins." The girl nodded with wide eyes.

"Is he all right?" Hermione asked and then she saw Ron, "What happened to your face?" She couldn't suppress the question as soon as she saw Ron's bruise. It was almost gone thanks to Molly, but it was still visible. Fortunately, the girls were not even injured.

"Err... it's ok... it doesn't hurt anymore." Ron answered without looking at her.

Arthur sighed. He exchanged a look with his wife and told Hermione everything; the war, Sirius Black, You-Know-Who not being dead, everything. Or at least all that they knew. It was not as if he could hide it either way. Hermione's eyes kept getting bigger as Arthur continued, she was clearly worried and surprised, and she was having a hard time believing that she would be involved in it.

"Something tells me that your parents should know, you are way too young," Arthur said. "On the other hand, they have received too much difficult news and that would only worry them more, so maybe we could wait a little. It's your decision." the girl nodded seriously.

"We'll avoid all of it this time," Molly said distressed, "Nothing bad is going to happen to my family and that includes you and Harry."

Hermione blushed, "Harry?" Arthur had mentioned him to her in the whole story, but he had forgotten to introduce him.

"Harry is... well... will be your friend, and Ron's too. The three of you did a lot of things together, apparently. Harry is starting Hogwarts this year also." Arthur said looking at the black haired boy, "He's Ginny's... well he's James' father."

The girl turned puzzled to the boy across from her, and soon her eyes expanded. "Harry?... But... but you're Harry Potter!" The boy nodded, "Oh... I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts... and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century..."

"I am?" said Harry, feeling dazed.

"Goodness, didn't you know? I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione.

Harry looked confused as the girl kept talking; practically everyone was taken aback by her, except for the kids from the future who were smirking. Arthur didn't expect her to know that much about the Wizarding World History.

No one saw George entering the kitchen until he spoke, he was holding a couple of empty plates, "Hey Ickle Ronnie! It appears like your wife is even worse than Percy," he said smirking.

"George! Leave the girl alone," Molly scolded as Hermione and Ron blushed again.

"Hey! Only came to leave these, Fred is sleeping again by the way." George said. He tried to smile, looking at Hermione, "I am George, the funniest and best-looking of all your brothers-in-law."

Hermione introduced herself still looking a little red.

Arthur hurried them and the table was soon empty. He explained everything; where were they going, who might be there and all that was expected of them. After they understood that, he walked Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Ron to the fireplace. He told them not to mention anything about Sirius Black or the war yet, Albus had insisted on proceeding like that. They needed to focus on explaining their story and the kids first.

"It's a clarification hearing, you are not forced to answer some of the questions. I'll be there with you during the whole thing. We'll call for the kids when we get to that point." the four of them nodded nervously.

He kissed Molly and said that he would call when they were ready for them, then he explained the Floo network to Harry and Hermione. "All you have to do is grab the powder, step into the fireplace and say The Ministry of Magic as you throw the powder to your feet."

Fortunately they didn't have any problem with it and a couple of minutes later they all walked out of one of the many fireplaces at the Ministry's Atrium.

The hall was packed with people striding on its dark wooden floor, fireplaces kept bursting every few seconds. It was a pretty usual day, but the four kids seemed fascinated by it.

As he expected, the murmurs and stares from a few people didn't take long. "Is that Harry Potter?" he heard a voice, and many heads turned to them, some others continued their way too busy with their own thoughts.

"It's ok, Harry." Arthur said putting his hand on the boy's shoulder, as he looked distressed.

"Hey Arthur, is that-?" an old witch came forward.

Arthur didn't stop, "Yes he is Margerie, sorry we are in a hurry right now..."

When they got to the Fountain of Magical Brethren, Hermione started asking questions about it, like who built it, when was that, and what was the smallest of the creatures there.

"That's a house-elf," Arthur said. "I'll explain later, we need to continue." With that he led them to the golden entrance gates.

At the security desk they were asked for their wands, and when the kids turned to look at him, he nodded.

"Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, brand new. That correct?" Eric Munch asked Harry, he had already checked Hermione's wand and Charlie's old wand which was now Ron's.

Harry nodded and when the man gave him back his wand he turned to Ginny. "This is my daughter Eric, she's nine, so she doesn't have one yet."

Eric nodded and he moved his attention back to Harry. Whatever he was planning on saying, though, Arthur didn't gave him a chance since he moved the four kids through the smaller hall, all the way to the wrought golden grilles. A moment later, the five of them were cramped against the back of a lift.

"Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services," a voice echoed not long after.

"This is us, come on hurry," Arthur said.

They still had more than enough time before the hearing started, so Arthur led them to his office. The first things they noticed were the windows, which Harry promptly asked about. Once Arthur explained that they were enchanted, Hermione asked about how they did it. Arthur answered the little he knew about it, adding that he wished he could have one on his own office.

When they passed in front of the Auror Headquarters, Perkins passed by on his way out to get a coffee. The kids were peeking at the Auror cubicles from a distance.

It really helped that Perkins was out, since he let Ginny and Hermione take a seat as Harry, Ron and himself remained standing up. Arthur was going through a few memos about jumping wash machines when he heard Harry's voice.

"Are these Charlie and Bill?" he asked looking at one photo on Arthur's desk.

"Yes they are," answered Ron. "This is Charlie and the taller one is Bill. Wonder when you'll get to meet them."

"I wrote them two days ago son, when the kids first arrived. We're still waiting for their answer," Arthur said and he saw Harry's worried look. He tried to say a few encouraging words, that it was not his fault, and he didn't think that Charlie or Bill would think so either.

Arthur talked to them a bit more about the hearing and soon they had to go. Amelia Bones' office was at the other side of the lift, and they were going to a small meeting room near there. It was only a simple clarification hearing after all.

Even so, Arthur felt slightly nervous the whole walk there. When they finally arrived the redheaded man knocked, and the door opened slowly.

It was a simple room with only a couple of portraits at its back. The walls were light brown and the place was well illuminated. At the far end of the room there was a long desk facing them, where Amelia and Albus were already exchanging some words. The headmaster nodded at Arthur when he saw them coming through the doors.

It was an open audience, so it was not difficult to witness what would happen there; around ten rows of seats were ordered across the room facing the desk and some of them were already taken. Arthur led the kids to the front row, attracting a few stares of familiar and unfamiliar faces. There were also a few seats against the side walls, reserved for special guests.

As the minutes passed, the room started filling up with people; apparently, there were many people curious about what happened, and most of them threw interested looks at Harry. The front desk was filled soon enough too; Heads of the different departments sat around Albus and Amelia and, at the last moment, Cornelius Fudge made a noisy appearance talking animatedly with a man that Arthur didn't want to see at all- Lucius Malfoy.

Cornelius and Lucius both stared at Arthur and Harry for a moment. The minister had an intrigued look but Lucius' expression seemed to be of pure disgust. When the minister took a seat between Albus and Amelia, the audience began. Arthur saw Lucius seating near a few Wizengamot members at one side of the room.

"Well we should get this started, right?" Fudge said and turned to Harry, "I'm curious about this whole matter, I must admit." He turned to Harry. "Harry Potter, I presume?"

Harry looked at Arthur who nodded, "Go on."

"Y-Yes sir," the boy said out loud raising a hand, "I'm Harry Potter"

The room was silent, "But stand up boy, don't be afraid, you're not accused of anything here." When Harry did as he was asked a few whispers ran across the room, "Good, good, now where's your wife? Where's Ginevra?... Ginevra Potter."

Ginny let out a small whimper. "It's all right Ginny, I'm here. Stand up."

Arthur was not sure if the people in the back were able to see her when she stood up, because she was so small.

"Perfect, then let's go on. Amelia?"

Amelia Bones spoke and everybody went silent, "This a clarification hearing for Harry and Ginevra Potter. They formed a marriage bond two days ago and due to their young age - even below the consent age - they were required here to give an explanation of how this happened," the witch began and a scribe was soon writing everything she said.

When she was over mentioning all the Office Heads present and Albus as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, she turned to Harry.

"Are you Harry James Potter, of house number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" she asked.

"Yes."

Then she turned to Ginny, "Are you Ginevra Molly Potter, of house... without number, St Ottery Catchpole, Devon?"

Ginny nodded.

"Please, speak out loud."

"Y-Yes" she said shyly.

"Louder please, we have many attendants today."

Ginny took a deep breath. "Yes," she said. Arthur noticed she was trembling.

"Very well, now did you marry this last Saturday, August 3rd 1991?"

With some confusion, Harry turned to Arthur and to Ginny, he opened his mouth, but it was clear he didn't know how to answer.

"If I may, Madam Bones," Arthur said standing up, "I request permission to answer that question."

More buzz of whispers sounded in the small room, and Amelia Bones raised an eyebrow, "Arthur Weasley?" she asked formally.

"Yes, I am Arthur Weasley, father of Ginevra. I was witness to the whole situation and can explain it to the people of this audience."

Madam Bones exchanged a few words with the Fudge and Albus, and then she nodded. "Proceed then. Mr. and Mrs. Potter can sit down for the meantime," she finally said and Harry and Ginny sat back down looking red. Next to them Ron and Hermione were nervous.

"Last Saturday, I was in my house with my family when we received an unusual visit," he started. "I'll get to that in a moment, but the point is that soon after my son Ron and my daughter Ginny received letters mentioning that they were married. My wife Molly and I were quite surprised as you can imagine, no one in the family had actually met Harry or Hermione yet."

"... some kind of trick..." a voice was heard in the back.

"Ron is only eleven and Ginny is even younger, she'll be ten next week." Arthur proceeded. "I was about to come here to see who I could find at the Records Office, someone who could help me explain this, when the headmaster of Hogwarts appeared at my door, Albus Dumbledore." Stares were moved to the old wizard, but he didn't seem to react, "He brought Harry Potter, and we found out that the boy didn't have a clue of what was going on either."

"Albus Dumbledore, can you confirm these words?"

Albus Dumbledore spoke calmly, "Yes, as I said before, I am quite informed of the entire situation. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot I got a letter letting me know of these events. Since I am his Magical Guardian, I went to see Harry Potter first; when I discovered the boy didn't know what was going on, I took him with me to the Weasleys' home, looking for answers."

"Very well, you may proceed Mr. Weasley."

Arthur sighed, "As some of you may know, Professor Dumbledore and myself have been trying to investigate this situation for the past two days. It appears to be a completely legitimate marriage in our Records."

"I am informed of that," said Madam Bones, "The purpose of this hearing is to understand how it's possible, to see if there was a mistake done, who did it and avoid future situations like this. I believe that these situations cannot be reversed."

Gasps and louder voices echoed around. Cornelius Fudge seemed to be scandalized, "I don't believe our Records could hold such mistakes Amelia, there's surely an outside force acting here. I mean, this cannot happen to other persons..."

"Well, let's listen to Mr. Weasley's explanation first."

Arthur nodded, "What I am going to say is the cause of not only Harry's and Ginny's marriage but also is the reason for Ron's and Hermione's marriage. I don't think that there's really a point in continuing with that case after resolving this one."

"We'll decide that after hearing to this explanation."

"Very well," Arthur said heavily, "So... as I was saying we had an unexpected visit that day. They were children, very young. Their presence was the cause of the marriage bond to be formed. They are... they came from the future."

Complete silence covered the place before all the voices there erupted louder than ever, "... impossible!" someone said.

"This is no place for jokes!" the voice of an older man added.

"Silence, please," Madam Bones said raising her hand. She appeared to be surprised, and at her side Cornelius Fudge had his eyes wide open. The order was recovered after some time, "The future?" she asked incredulously.

"Twenty four years into the future."

"That's madness, time cannot be altered like that!" a fat old man with a thin moustache called from a seat at the right side of the room.

"I didn't believe it at first, but they brought a time turner with them." Arthur tried desperately to be believed, while near him Ron had a panic look on his eyes.

"Rubbish! Time Turners cannot go back more than a few hours!" another voice replied while a few faces around looked confused. Not many people were familiar with time turners.

"This one has not been invented yet."

The hissing in the room was quite loud as arguments that Arthur couldn't understand flew around, this time it was harder for Amelia Bones to get the control back but she eventually did. The witch was staring at Arthur completely serious, trying to find any sign of him lying.

"Do you have proof?" she finally asked.

Arthur nodded heavily, "The children from the future; I can call my wife to bring them here, and we also have this time turner. It is broken, but it is real."

The woman thought about it for a moment, then said something to the minister and Dumbledore. They seemed to be arguing a lot. When that was over, she turned back to Arthur, "I'm suspending this for an hour, in this time I'll have a meeting with somebody from the Department of Mysteries to clear a few doubts. When the hour is over, we will meet here again. I'll arrange a Floo connection directly to an office here. Can those kids and the artifact be present by then?"

"Yes, of course,"

"Very well, an hour," she said and stood up, then it was pure madness. There were yells and people pushing, even a few flashes from a distant camera. Everybody wanted to ask things or question Harry, but Arthur knew that this was a delicate part. He didn't know how but he was able to get all five of them back to his office. Even so, people were crowding outside of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office as never before.

"The Prophet will have a field day with this," he said to them.

"You have the proof of what you're saying, don't you?" Perkins who was back at the office asked. He was standing up, leaving his chair for one of the girls.

"Of course I do, what would we win with making all of this up?"

Albus Dumbledore came to see him soon; fortunately, he had made the call to Molly already so there was no need for him to leave the children alone. It was all just a difficult wait.

It seemed like an eternity before they had to straggle back to that small room. It had more people now and even a few of them were standing in the back. The whole Ministry seemed to know what had happened earlier there.

Amelia Bones and the minister looked more serious than before. They were both looking at James and the other kids from the future, who were now next to them and to a small table where the broken time turner rested. Molly was by Arthur's side holding his hand, and Percy was there too, of course. Fred and George had remained at home.

The people in the room couldn't stop looking at Arthur's grandchildren.

"So, who are they?" Madam Bones asked once the meeting was resumed.

"This is James Potter," Arthur said causing a few gasps to echo. "He's the eldest son of Harry and Ginny. He was born on 2004." James stood up, confused.

The voices didn't stop all the time that it took Arthur to mention the names of all of the time travellers. "Their presence is the reason of the marriage bond of their parents. It arrived with them."

Madam Bones nodded and made a gesture to the time turner, "We will need to check that," Arthur agreed. "Pheelstone? If you can..."

A blond man in his fifties nodded and walked to the small table. He looked at it in detail and expressed astonishment a few times. The room was silent as the man analysed the hourglasses. After two very long minutes he spoke. "I would have to take it to the Department but it looks genuine," the man said causing a lot of surprise, "It is definitely a time turner, but I have never seen anything like it. It would be of great help to talk with whoever did it."

"If this story is indeed true, we might never know who built it," Madam Bones said.

"She's here," a girl's voice echoed around.

Arthur turned quickly to her. "Rose, it's not... important... not now." The girl covered her mouth as everyone looked at her.

"What did you say young girl? Rose is it?"

Rose nodded slowly.

"It's nothing Madam Bones," Arthur answered, "She was trying to say that we know who built the artifact, but it is not really relevant at this point."

"Of course it is!" Fudge interrupted. "Who was responsible for this... this thing?"

The kids from the future turned to Hermione who blushed deeply, "You? But- what was your name again?"

The bushy haired girl stood up, "Hermione, sir," she said doubtfully as Arthur nodded, "Hermione Grang- well... I-I don't know..."

Amelia Bones replied nodding, "We understand but you are eleven, even in twenty four years you would be way too young to do something like that... Impressive!" she said and Hermione blushed, Pheelstone looked at her, shocked.

"Well, the point then, is who authorized the building of it," said Fudge. "Someone must be responsible here, people are not free to build these kinds of-"

"Minister, if I may," said Albus and everyone looked at him, "I believe that Mrs. Hermione Weasley works at the Ministry in the future, and the construction of this time turner was very much legal."

When the gasps finished the minister nodded with wide eyes, it seemed like he couldn't find how to answer to that.

They needed one last proof, so they asked for a drop of James' blood who nodded reluctantly after Arthur encouraged him. Harry and Ginny were asked for one too, and a wizard with a sandy hair, who had a potion already prepared, added them to his small cauldron. It took a few minutes, but eventually the wizard confirmed that James was indeed Harry's and Ginny's son. The room erupted in madness.

Loud yells echoed, more flashes came, surely for the next edition of the Prophet. Arthur was able to distinguish a few reporters in the room this time. Some people left the room right then, already spreading the news, Arthur thought.

After all the commotion was left behind Amelia Bones let out a heavy sigh, "Well, I guess that clears things up. The time turner will need to be left at the Department of Mysteries. The children on the other hand... I don't know. This is already an unknown situation, time shouldn't be changed like this, but I don't know if-"

"Madam Bones, can I have some words?" said a drawled voice on Arthur's left. He didn't have to turn to know it belonged to Lucius Malfoy. The redhead man frowned.

"Mr. Malfoy? Hmmm all right, carry on."

"Future knowledge is too dangerous, it could be used to gain advantage in all sort of... ways," said the man trying to sound concerned. "I believe that concealing the children in the Ministry should be an option to be considered."

Arthur's eyes sprung open, Molly gasped next to him, she turned to look at her husband quite scared.

Swiftly, Arthur nodded and raised his voice, "Madam Bones, these are just kids, they didn't do this on purpose. Right now, we don't know how to return them... but we can't just lock them away!"

"I'm not a supporter of locking small children either," said Lucius. "But, future could be damaged. The option must be considered at least."

Fudge was nodding thoughtfully, but Madam Bones was caught by surprise. "I believe that sounds like an extreme path."

"It would be the best for the wellbeing of the Magical Community," Lucius insisted. "Knowledge of the future shouldn't be at the service of anyone."

"Arthur!" Molly said grabbing his arm.

"I won't use this in my favor! I just want my grandchildren to be all right!" All the kids around Arthur looked afraid and distressed. Lily appeared to be ready to cry even if she didn't understand all what had been said so far.

"The Ministry could take good care of them."

"NOO!" the voice was loud and it took a while for Arthur to discover that it was Harry. "They need a family!" he yelled.

The boy seemed scared about what he had done right away as everyone turned to look at him, all eyes set on him. It was impressive how Harry Potter and the fact that everyone knew his story could silence an entire room full of wizards and witches for so long, especially in the current situation.

"This has gone way too far," Madam Bones said after a long time.

Dumbledore took the opportunity to speak. "The future has been changed already by these marriage bonds, even without these children around things will be different."

Madam Bones took her chances to settled things quickly, "They will stay with the Weasleys then, for the time being."

Shouts of joy came from James and they were soon joined by shouts from the other kids. Arthur smiled feeling a heavy burden fall from his shoulders. Not far away, Lucius Malfoy was twisting his mouth as he snorted, he threw a murderous look at Arthur and the kids but the redhead man didn't look away. Arthur didn't like Lucius at all, but what he had tried to do this time made him despise the man a lot more.

"They should be questioned!" A husky voice in the back echoed. "With truth serum, we should all know about the future then."

Arthur was prepared for this, but that didn't mean that the fear didn't return to him for a brief instant. "They're underage and they have not committed a crime. They came here by accident without knowing what the time turner was. An interrogation can't be held without parents consent, it's against the law," he said turning to Harry. They had talked about that and Harry nodded, still nervous.

"I-I- don't consent" he said quietly.

Hermione turned at Ron who was stunned in his seat so she dragged him to his feet, "We- don't consent either," she added with Ron nodding quickly at her side.

Ginny stood up too, "I-I don't..." was all she said.

Fudge looked troubled from Lucius to the entire room, and Madam Bones nodded, "So be it."

"What about their parents? They were reckless in leaving a thing like this for them to reach!" another voice echoed in the back, but this time a few voices answered in annoyed tones.

"Oh leave the kids already!" Arthur heard a woman say a few seats behind him.

Fudge looked at Madam Bones. "It doesn't seem like a crime and even if it was we cannot punish things that had not happened yet," the woman said seriously, she looked tired too. "It appears to be all for the moment. Mr. Weasley we can still call you if doubts come out in this matter."

Arthur nodded.

"Well, if there is nothing more to be said here-"

The headmaster was staring at Arthur. He knew what was next; they were only halfway through the hearing. Arthur turned to Percy who had been very serious so far, then he took the longest breath ever and spoke loudly and clearly, "I do. I have something more to say."

Everyone looked surprised, especially Amelia Bones. "What is it?"

"It's- about Sirius... Sirius Black."


	7. A New Beginning

**Thanks to Jetsun1119 for the help with this chap.**

* * *

**SIRIUS**

Ten years. Ten years of dark misery. Gone.

It was hard for him to believe it. Two days had passed already since he was declared a free man and he hadn't yet ruled out the idea of everything being just a dream, not yet.

The first time his face touched a pillow he had ten years of tiredness on his back, and he slept for almost an entire day, a dreamless rest. Now though, he woke up startled, haunted by the nightmares. That demented place had the worst things that one could imagine, and it was mostly because of them, those repulsive cloaked figures gliding through the gloomy corridors. They moved like the darkness itself, bristling every hair from the back of his head with their other-worldly rustles, sucking the life out of him with their unnatural cold.

It was not easy. The comfortable bed, the cozy room, the good meals... even the people around him; everything could vanish. It could still just be one long and cruel dream.

He walked out of bed, it was pretty early but he had slept a lot. He took a hot shower as long as his trial, trying not to think about anything. He put clothes on and stopped by the bathroom again, checking that his hair was exactly as he liked it and that he was well shaved.

It didn't seem natural to see his face in the mirror now. His hair was fine and so was his dark moustache but the face was wrong... it was the face of an old man, older than he was supposed to be.

"You look almost like a person now," said a giggling voice at his back.

Next to the door, Dora was looking at him; the young girl was ready to start her day too. Looking at her was hard since Sirius realized how much he had been absent. Dora was not the little girl he left anymore. She had been seven or eight years old the last time he saw her, before that fateful night... he wasn't really sure. Nymphadora Tonks was a young woman now, she had finished Hogwarts a few months ago and she was starting her Auror training. It was impressive how much life he had lost.

"That's the plan kid," said Sirius.

Dora frowned, she had told him that she didn't want him to call her kid anymore, she preferred to be addressed by her surname only, as most of her friends from Hogwarts knew her. Still Dora didn't complain this time, "Breakfast is ready, hurry up, we're only waiting for you."

When Sirius Black reached the dining table, his cousin, Andromeda Tonks, was already setting things up. It was impressive how much she looked like her sister and, at the same time, how different they were. Andie was always kind and joyful while Bella... well, Sirius would rather not to think about her, it made his stomach turn.

Ted Tonks was already there, reading the Daily Prophet. He worked at St. Mungo's and he was getting ready for another day there. Sirius looked with caution towards the newspaper since the previous two days it had born stunning headlines. The first day he almost fell from the shock, they had tried to warn him but it was useless... no one could be prepared for something like that, even when he was expecting ten years worth of news.

Harry Potter, his godson, was married. That had almost put him out of his chair; as far as he knew the boy should be about to start Hogwarts, but time seemed so worthless on Azkaban he wasn't sure. The truth was stunning, Harry was really eleven, and he was indeed married; as if that was not enough craziness, it turned out that the boy's kids have just arrived, from the future. It even turned out that the only reason Sirius was out was because of them. Why didn't they say anything about it at his trial?

Since he woke up the first day, Sirius had been trying to go and see Harry at the Weasleys' house, but Andie advised him to wait at least another day, to recover a bit more. Sirius was getting impatient, but he had the meeting arranged already, the Weasleys would be waiting him for lunch and his godson would be finally able to meet him. Sirius didn't know how Harry would react to a just-released-prisoner, and that made him really nervous; he had to be there either way, he had failed James and Lily so much already by leaving him behind.

Today's edition of the Daily Prophet didn't have anything new to show after all, only editorials and reporters' opinions on the latest events. Sirius imagined that it could pretty much be considered a slow news day compared to the last days standards. Still, the paper was able to get a few nasty growls out of him, if he hadn't just come out of Azkaban he would have paid a visit to a reporter or two there. He couldn't imagine how someone could be so despicable to young children. He really hoped that Harry was not reading that rubbish.

Ted and Dora left and Sirius was soon on a couch at the living room, talking with Andie. His cousin had been filling him up with ten years of stories and it was pretty relaxing.

"I'm sorry for all of this Andie, I'll be looking for a place of my own as soon as I make my first trip to Gringotts, I promise," said Sirius. He was more than grateful; they didn't have to do this. They even sent someone to save him from the wave of pesky reporters at the Ministry, just after the trial.

"Nonsense, you can stay here for as long as you want. You are family and we don't see you as a criminal, you shouldn't either. This was not your fault."

Sirius gave her a weak smile, he knew that in a way it was his fault.

The grey and cloudy eyes reflected uncertainty. Sirius didn't know what he was going to do with his life now, his plans only went as far as lunch. He had an open schedule.

A visit to Diagon Alley was a required thing though, he needed a new wand and to get a hold of his new fortune. He was recently told that his mother had died while he was locked away, but he didn't know how to react to that. It felt out of place that after everything that happened he ended up being the Head of House Black. Irony.

His life was a mystery, but the only thing he was sure of was that he didn't want to live at that horrible place. Yes, there were no doubts there, Grimmauld Place was out of the question.

He thought about getting a job, as he was not the kind of person to sit around without doing anything, but now that there was no war he didn't know what to do. He hadn't worked before, the only thing he had done was fight against Voldie. His skills would only be useful as an Auror, but there was no way that they would let him in for that, right?

The thing that worried Sirius the most though was Remus' absence; no one could give him any news from him and Sirius hoped that he hadn't died while he was in that damned cell. Witnessing the Marauders completely destroyed was something he never thought his eyes would see.

It was all that rat's fault. At his trial he was left speechless for a moment, when they brought Peter to give his testimony under Veritaserum. At that moment he knew that he was going to be free and that all he needed to do was wait; still, he had been enraged, pulling from his chains as a madman, and aurors had to contain him. If Albus Dumbledore hadn't demanded order, Sirius would have yelled that they couldn't have Wormtail, that Wormtail was his... that he needed to kill Peter with his own hands. That wouldn't have fared well at his trial though.

Sirius clenched his fists. All in all he ended up being freed with a regular mental-checks recommendation. He knew the suggestion was the way of the court to say that he had to do it if he didn't want problems. As if he cared, they wouldn't dare to do anything to him now... they were having a very hard time with the press about it.

Thinking about his trial made Sirius remember something else. He was going to see Percival Weasley later that day too, the redhead boy who had made a nervous testimony at his trial... Sirius owed him way too much, and he had to find a way to reward the boy.

Sometime before lunch, a knock was heard at the door.

Andie went to check it, while Sirius sipped his tea. "Sirius, there's someone here who wants to see you."

That brought him off of the couch quickly enough. Andie hadn't let anyone see him yet, not even Dumbledore himself. Sirius was starting to wonder what it was about, when he turned around and his face froze.

In front of him there was a man with shabby clothes, darned at few places. Brown hair and thin moustache, also a pale face that reflected worries and tiredness beyond belief.

"Moony," whispered Sirius.

"Padfoot."

The next thing Sirius knew, he was embracing that man as the brother he was for him, unable to believe his luck. Remus was there... after all that had happened.

"I am really sorry that I missed the trial... you have to believe me, it all happened too fast. I was out of the country," rushed the scruffy man.

"Shut up already! There is nothing to say, you're here now."

They moved a step away from each other, "There is... of course there is. I failed you Padfoot, I should have been there... I was your friend and I left you alone when you needed me the most! What would James think of me now?"

Sirius made it look as if it was not important at all. "That you're beating your stupid head for no reason, of course, I failed you too Remus... I thought it was you."

"I should have known, I mean Peter... he fooled us all, but I should have known!"

They discussed the whole thing for a while; Peter, remorse and regrets... Andie had moved to the kitchen to give them some space, after a while Remus and Sirius decided to let that behind, and they remembered the good times. Sirius' chest hurt with all the old stories, it felt like another life when he had last laughed like that. It felt like another life when he had last laughed at all. Remus looked happy too, but his eyes were watering slightly.

Remus was staying at the Leaky Cauldron for now and, by the conversation, Sirius found out a thing or two about his old friend. He hadn't had an easy life either, his condition stopped him from getting any stable job. He didn't say so, but to Sirius it appeared as if sometimes the man even struggled to put food on his table. Sirius had to do something about that for sure.

The morning passed quickly, and the time to go the Weasleys was coming. Remus of course had agreed to join him on the trip as long as the Weasleys were ok with it. Andie made a Floo call to Arthur Weasley and apparently there was no problem.

Sirius got more surprising news then. "You haven't met him yet?! What's wrong with you? The boy was-"

"Dumbledore thought that it was for the best, he preferred Harry not knowing anything about our world then. Lily's sister was her guardian, she wouldn't have allowed it either."

"The old man is nuts, I'm telling you! How could Harry have grown up like that? I'll change it Moony... I swear I will..."

Remus looked troubled. "You should think things through, Dumbledore may do things that don't appear to make sense at first, but he has his heart in the right place. You know that, he gave me a chance once."

Sirius snorted. "I'll be telling him a thing or two either way, he has been sending me these letters, he wants to talk or something. It's about time I answer his owl."

"You haven't answered him?" said Remus, surprised.

With a hand gesture Sirius dismissed the comment as unimportant. "I waited ten years Remus, ten years. Nothing is going to happen to the old man for waiting a day or two."

Since Sirius didn't know where the Weasleys' home was they were going there through the fireplace, and the name that they had to use was _The Burrow_. Andie said her good-byes and when the time was right they took to the green flames and vanished away.

When he came out of the Weasleys' fireplace, Sirius noticed that a lot of people were waiting for him, mostly kids, and the first thing that he thought was that the place was incredibly small for all of them. It was cozy and it gave a feeling of being comfortably at home, but Sirius also knew that most of the things there were appropriate only for a family with not many resources.

Arthur Weasley was waiting for him calmly at his right side and Molly Weasley was not far from him; the woman looked far more cautious than her husband. She seemed uneasy with the idea of a newly released prisoner in her house.

Sirius tried to get a better look at the children, but at the same time he addressed Arthur. "This is Remus Lupin, an old friend, hope you don't mind Arthur. If there's a problem-"

"It's okay, really, the more the merrier," said Arthur with a warm smile.

"We're glad to have you Remus," added Molly.

"Thank you."

Slowly Sirius moved his attention back to the children. He noticed that some of them were staring at Remus oddly, but his main purpose was to find his godson. After ruling out all of the redheads he was left with fewer options, but he still wasn't sure, as the three boys looked quite alike. He coughed weakly. "Well, this is more than I expected. My name is..."

"Sirius Black!" the boy who was in the front almost jumped in his place. Beaming, he moved closer to Sirius, "Blimey! I can't believe it! It's really you!"

"Oh of course it's me, but the question is who are you..." said Sirius moving his attention to the boy, quite surprised. The boy was the striking image of James. "You can't be Harry... your eyes are wrong..." the fact the boy didn't have a scar on his forehead was something that he didn't want to point out.

Sirius lowered himself to one knee in front of the boy as he moved his eyes to the back. A few steps away a couple of black haired boys would have been practically identical to each other, if it weren't for their sizes and the fact that one of them was not wearing glasses. Sirius saw the lightning bolt scar, and his world stopped. Harry.

Harry was staring at him too, but it was unclear if he was excited or nervous.

"James Sirius Potter, nice to meet you," said the dark haired boy in front of Sirius, extending his hand with a wide smile. The man had been looking at Harry over the boy's shoulder.

Sirius' eyes expanded. "James... Sirius?... that's..." he stopped for a moment, then he shook the boy's hand with a huge grin. "Brilliant! The best name ever! Did you hear that Moony?... I wouldn't have come with it myself." Remus rolled his eyes. "You're Harry's- s-son then?" asked Sirius in a raspy voice.

The new James nodded effusively, pulling out his chest. "Sure I am."

"Harry I can't say how honoured I feel..." said Sirius making his godson jump a bit at being addressed, Sirius' grey eyes were now set on Harry again. "Merlin! You really do have Lily's eyes. Come here kiddo."

With some doubt, Harry walked to his godfather; once he was close enough, Sirius ruffled James' hair a bit and turned to Harry. Sirius took a deep breath, his heart pounding. He should have never left him... "First of all Harry, I need to tell you how deeply sorry I am for not being here for you when you needed me the most. I will never be able to forgive myself for that," he growled a bit to himself. "Even so... if you let me, I'll spend the years I have left making it up for you."

Seconds seemed to be passing slowly, waiting for the boy's answer. Sirius was tense, what would happen if the kid rejected him? If he couldn't forgive him?

Eventually, Harry pressed his lips together and he nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Black."

"Call me Sirius, or Padfoot... whatever you feel like," Sirius said, trying to smile.

Harry agreed, and Sirius pulled him into a quick hug. It was as if he starting just where he left, this was where he was supposed to be all of this time... not in some deranged prison cell. Right there, he felt he was hugging James again, and with that he was trying to say how sorry he was.

When Sirius stood up, he noticed that Molly Weasley was still quite tense. In the back a boy that Sirius recognized as Percival Weasley was tense too. Sirius had a pending debt with that boy.

"Sirius, Remus, let me introduce you to the rest of my family," said Arthur. "This is my wife Molly, who I am sure you already know,"

"Yes, of course, I-... Fabian and Gideon, they were good men."

Molly Weasley's chest heaved weirdly as she nodded, "T-thanks."

"We have two children who have already finished Hogwarts, they're living abroad but we keep contact with them often, Bill and Charlie. We just received letters from them yesterday, they are aware of everything that it's going on; they found it unsettling of course, but they support us all... Percy, you might recognize him from the trial, he's the oldest one still living here."

"Of course I remember him," said Sirius' thundering voice and the redhead boy jumped. "I owe you my life boy, I'll never be able to pay you for what you did, but I will try... trust me... I am a man of my word, don't let the pictures fool you."

Percy Weasley had been looking pale, but at that his face turned red and nodded nervously. "I-It was nothing, Mr. Black,"

A couple of redheaded twins smirked, sharing some kind of private joke.

"There's no need for any kind of reward, truly," said Molly, but Sirius snorted. Molly didn't seem to like that.

"James helped a lot too Sirius, he was the one insisting on you being innocent all along," said Arthur.

Sirius' eyes grew a bit as he focused on the young boy again. "Is that so?" James nodded smiling. "Well, good to know then, I am sure you and me will get along quite fine."

Arthur continued his introductions, "The twins are Fred and George. The boy in front of them is Ron, my son also, he's starting Hogwarts with Harry in a few days. Ginny is our only daughter and well she's... James' mother, come closer sweetheart."

A redhead girl moved from behind a couch, blushing. A moment earlier, Sirius had been wondering about how many children could the Weasleys afford with their situation, but once he noticed the girl he laughed loudly, causing a few nervous stares. "It's a curse, I'm telling you Moony, they're always redheads." he barked.

He already knew that Harry's wife was a redhead since the Weasleys were all like that and he had been reading the Prophet, but still, looking at the little girl was a surprise.

"A curse?" Molly asked, confused.

"Oh it's nothing Molly, it's just a thing with the Potters, they have for centuries been marrying red-haired women. It's just that," said Remus.

Harry and the girl - Ginny - blushed considerably at those words.

Sirius was introduced to Harry's other son and his daughter, but by then it was obvious Harry and Ginny were their parents. Sirius smiled widely at the little girl, who was happily gaping at them, she was named Lily and her hair was red too... the boy though was named Albus, which made Sirius wonder how close had Harry been to Dumbledore in the future from which the children came.

"Well, it's my time to introduce you to someone. You already heard his name, but this is Remus Lupin," said Sirius dragging his friend to the front.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Remus received a few warm words and Sirius moved his bright eyes to Harry next. "Harry, Remus was the closest friend to you father and me back at Hogwarts," he said, obviously trying not to think too much about Wormtail.

Harry nodded and soon he and Remus were greeting and exchanging some short words.

"Is he Teddy's Dad?" asked Harry's little daughter with awe, Lily.

Sirius was surprised. "Teddy who?" Arthur and Molly sobered, although they didn't seem confused.

"Eh kids, we already talked about this. It might be better to wait, it might be too fast for Sirius and Remus," said Arthur Weasley.

"Nonsense, who's this Teddy?" asked Sirius, confused.

Arthur doubted, but he eventually decided to speak. "They talked about him a few days ago, it appears like the boy was Harry's godson. Teddy Lupin."

"L-Lupin?" the newly freed man asked turning to Remus, who was pale.

James nodded hastily, "Yeah, Teddy's father was Dad's teacher in his third year. He was Sirius Black friend too... you are him, aren't you?" he asked Remus.

This was even more startling; it was weird listening to these kids who seem to know them already. Moony a teacher? It felt difficult at the moment but Sirius could totally see it. He also noticed they seemed to talk to him as if he had not been in Azkaban all of his life, he wondered at what year he came out on their time. Still, the biggest discovery was this Teddy kid.

Sirius elbowed Remus grinning. "Hey, how about that? You got a kid."

"I-I- can't...impossible, y-you know that I-" Remus mumbled softly.

He understood him of course, but the children talked as there was nothing wrong with the kid. Remus surely wanted to ask more, but he was afraid of letting it out that he was a werewolf. Sirius wondered if the future kids knew that already. Remus' son couldn't inherit his furry problem, could he?

"I think it's enough chat here, lunch is ready," said Molly.

They all moved calmly to the table, but Remus still looked pale, as if he was afraid of asking more about the boy who was probably his son.

Sirius sat down next to Harry, and he had to contain a laugh when he saw his little girl pulling Ginny next to him at the table. It seemed like they were far from being used to each other. The situation was clearly odd but Sirius had thought a lot about it already, it seemed like there was nothing to do and all the Wizarding World knew already. He just hoped that his godson's time at Hogwarts was as normal as possible. The only downside was that Harry wouldn't be able to date other girls now, not unless he wanted the eyes of a lot of redheads set on him.

He wondered what Lily would have thought about her eleven year old son marrying at this age, and he almost laughed at the mental image.

James was eager to get a seat close to Sirius too, which he didn't mind at all, the kid was really James born again... way more than Harry. James wanted to know all about their adventures at Hogwarts and Sirius let a few out. Those were good for a few laughs and for making a few people less tense. Molly Weasley didn't seem to like his stories though.

Soon even Ron and Ginny looked less nervous, but the twins were the ones who really cracked Sirius, they were brilliant and didn't seem nervous with him at all after his stories. They were pranksters for sure, and so he whispered to Moony; however, his old friend was still lost in his thoughts about the Teddy boy.

The Weasleys talked about Ron and his young wife too. She was called Hermione, and the twins used her name every time they wanted to stun their brother. Ron had future children too, but they were away with their mother. Their names were Rose and Hugo, Harry's children talked a lot about them.

The twins seemed especially surprised by Sirius and Remus using the names Moony and Padfoot, but they didn't say anything more about it.

The first bad thing came when someone mentioned Al's second name. Sirius almost choked on his bacon sandwich. "WHAT?! You named him after that git?! What were you thinking?!" Sirius was roaring out of his mind, but a glare from Molly Weasley warned him. Even Remus came out of his thoughts, looking surprised.

He couldn't believe James' son would name his son after _Snivellus_, what had the poor boy done to deserve something like that? Sirius couldn't even imagine what James would think of this.

Sirius frowned and made a few more grunting sounds, until Remus hit him in the ribs and asked him to look at Al. The boy looked pretty beaten by Sirius' words and Harry's smile had faded, his godson was now moving his eyes between his plate and Al. Sirius made a huge effort to contain himself, even so it was obvious that he had already said too much. Molly was not looking happy at all.

"Sorry kid... but Harry... really?... I- why did you do that to your kid?"

"Al dear, there's nothing wrong with the name Severus. I already told you," said Molly Weasley glaring at Sirius.

Sirius' temper was tested again when the fact that Snape was a teacher came out. He did make an angry remark and an unpleasant joke about the greasy git, but he tried not to mess it up again. He wanted Harry to like him, and that wouldn't happen if he kept making his kid feel bad. At the beginning the mood at the table had been amazing, but after all of that it took a lot of time before they were all laughing again.

Arthur Weasley also advised Sirius to talk to the headmaster as soon as possible, but Sirius snorted. "The most important thing was coming to meet my godson, right Harry?" he said putting a hand over the boy's shoulder. Harry smiled weakly, which was a good thing after the whole thing with his son's name. "Anything else comes after that."

"So this Teddy... are you sure he's my son?" asked Remus finally a while later.

"We think so..." said Al moving his confused eyes to James.

"You're Remus Lupin, right?... That was Teddy's father's name too," said James, seeming convinced.

They let a few more things out, such as the fact that Sirius had initially believed that Teddy's father was Voldemort's spy. It was a sure thing that this Teddy Lupin was Remus son.

"An-and how is he?... Is he all right? or sick?" sweat was dripping from Remus' forehead.

Little Lily was confused. "He makes funny faces."

"What?"

"He changes his face," clarified Al moving his own hand in front of him. "changes his hair colour a lot too. He likes blue."

A Metamorphmagus. Sirius was stunned for a while, he knew where he had seen that and turned to Remus grinning. Ted, that was another clue. "Moony! You're family!"

"Wh-what? what do you mean?"

"Dora is your son's mother."

Remus' eyes grew wide.

"They call her Tonks, Teddy's mother," supplied Al weakly.

That was it. Sirius moved to Remus and put a friendly arm around his blushing friend. Everything had been really odd since Sirius was freed, but it was clear that things could only get better. It was really worth the while living to see this.

"I-I-... it can't be..."

"Oh come on, you heard that you're... wait, Dora just came out of Hogwarts! What's the matter with you?!" Sirius said frowning, but he couldn't hide that he was smiling also.

A few more mumblings later, Remus forced himself to put the topic aside, "But... he's fine? My son?"

"He's not a werewolf if that's what you mean, he does get a little bit cranky at full moons though," said James lightly as he grabbed another mouthful from his food.

"James..." mumbled Al nervously at that.

The room fell deathly silent. Percy, his parents and Remus paled. The twins were confused and their brother Ron seemed scared. Great, Moony couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"What? Why would he be a werewolf?" Molly asked and she turned to Remus, the man was stunned and serious.

"Teddy's father was a werewolf, but Teddy isn't, he's ok," said James still looking at his plate.

"James, I think you shouldn't..." said Al, but it was already too late.

Yes, it was great that the boy was not a werewolf, but at the moment all that Sirius could think of was Molly Weasley's big eyes.

"WHAT!? You're a werewolf? Bu-but... Arthur?!"

Arthur Weasley was stunned as he moved his eyes around. Ginny gasped and, next to her, Harry looked puzzled, staring at Remus.

"Hey, lets not..."

"I-Is that true?" asked the redhead man.

"I-I am, yes," said Remus faintly.

A few silent seconds passed and then Molly spoke quite loud, "Kids, go to your rooms."

"But Mum..." started one of the twins.

"Now!"

Harry looked very troubled and Remus stood up. "It might be better if we go for now," said Sirius standing up too. "But it is not what you think, it's..."

"Sirius, leave it," said Remus.

The whole atmosphere was tense, even Percy Weasley was looking at them with unreadable eyes.

"It's what? We invited you to our house, and you bring him here?!"

"Molly please, Remus is a good man."

"Sirius, it's ok really. Let's go, I'm used to this."

It was crazy, surely the Weasley woman had her doubts about letting Sirius into her house, and now apparently Sirius was the less dangerous guest there. He couldn't believe this, Remus couldn't hurt a fly.

"Go!" yelled the woman, her husband was still confused.

"Listen to me, we will go but Remus is the best person I know!" said Sirius frowning. "Far better than me for that... it is not even a full moon and-"

"I don't care! I won't have a werewolf near my children!"

They were already close to the fireplace, but all the kids were still there, watching. Then surprisingly James and Al rushed to Sirius' and Remus' side.

"He's not a bad person Grandma," said James.

"James! Come here!"

"No!" yelled the boy surprising even Sirius and Remus, "He's a good man, Dad says it all the time. He was a hero... he fought in the war too! Both wars!"

Molly and Arthur were stunned.

"The war? Both?" asked Sirius confused.

"Yes! He fought all the way to the end! It's was not his fault he was a werewolf..." insisted James as Al agreed desperately. It seemed odd that after all that Sirius had said at the table, Al was there defending them too.

"H-He was? But-" Sirius mumbled, turning to his friend.

Al looked troubled.

"We have to tell them Al, maybe if we do Grandma will-" said James.

"I don't know James... Rose said-"

James snorted.

"What's going on? What happened to him?!" Sirius interrupted.

Al seemed troubled, but he ended up sighing, "He died, in the final battle."

A lot of words echoed, but Sirius didn't understand anything, neither the squeals, or the gasps, or the mumbles. He only had eyes for his friend, who suddenly had turned paler than ever, white. The old scars on his face looked brighter, and he appeared to be even older.

"NO! It can't be! Moony!"

Not him. Sirius couldn't lose him too, he deserved a happy life more than anybody did. Sirius shook him, but Remus' eyes were looking away, completely stunned. Remus turned to see him, but it was as if he couldn't understand.

"Sirius, Remus... you better sit down."

"B-b-ut... Arthur..." Molly looked more conflicted than angry now.

"They need to know, dear," said Arthur Weasley.

The next moments were a whirlwind of incredible words, a huge mess. How could Voldie still be alive? A war? Escaping Azkaban and being on the run? He didn't know how to react, what to say, what to think. It was as if he never left that cell in that other life they were talking about.

"And that's it," said Arthur Weasley once he finished. "It is our big secret; as you can see the Wizarding World doesn't know yet. You might understand now why Albus is afraid of letting this out. It is very dangerous."

Remus nodded. "Eh... yes. Of course." he said faintly.

"Albus believed Sirius should know too since they had mentioned him fighting in this war, he was going to tell you, that's why he wanted a meeting with you, Sirius. After this I thought it was best for both of you to know."

Harry was close to them now, looking quite shaken.

"We will stop it, there will be no war this time. Things don't need to be like that," said Arthur.

"Of course we'll stop it," added Molly, a bit more sympathetic after the news on Remus.

Sirius didn't know what to say, he was on a couch with his fingers lost in his black hair, supporting his head.

He let out a heavy sigh. "This is way too much," he started in a dry voice, moving his eyes between Harry and the Weasleys. "Even so I'm with you, don't doubt it. Whatever you need to stop this, call me. If still it turns out that we need to fight, I'm there too, I would defend Harry with my life."

Remus spoke, "I do too. It doesn't matter what happened on their time. I did this before when the first war was here, I'll do it again. I'm with you Harry."

The Weasleys seemed surprised and Arthur nodded. A long silence took place, everybody was in the living room now. Some people even tried to support Remus and he answered with a shy smile. No one seemed to remember the werewolf part, but Sirius still noticed a few uncomfortable looks. Molly Weasley was not angry anymore, just sad.

"My son..." whispered Remus with a foreign voice after a while, his eyes travelling to James, "How old was he when... I died?"

James turned uncomfortably to Al who shrugged, "Err... not sure, I guess he was just born. He doesn't remember you."

That brought Remus back to the sorrow again. Molly shrieked, the woman seemed quite beaten.

"What about his mother?"

"She died in the same battle. She fought too, she was amazing... that's what they say." added Al sadly.

Sirius couldn't believe it, Dora dying too. He didn't know what to say. All that could do was put an arm over Remus shoulder.

"So he's... alone?" asked Remus, his voice trembling.

"I'm sure there's someone there... I wouldn't leave him alone, even if I'm in the run- I'm-" Sirius turned to James and Al, they were both looking at the floor conflicted.

The boys surely hadn't wanted to say a thing about this, but Sirius could see through them. "... dead... I'm dead too, aren't I?"

James and Al didn't say a thing.

If there was still a doubt in the Weasleys about them, it vanished then. Molly Weasley was clearly sobbing as well as little Ginny. The twins looked weird as serious as they were, and Percy had his eyes on his feet. Ron, who had been whispering some things to Harry since the bad news started coming out, was now by himself because Harry had soon raced to Sirius and was now hugging him tightly, as if he had known him since forever.

"You couldn't leave me! I was, I mean, not you... you were just out of there!" he said.

Sirius understood him perfectly, being all that time in Azkaban and die a few years later... and in the run, it was like a big fat joke on him. Even so, he now realized the truth. Having been out to help Harry, meeting him, breathing fresh air again... there was a huge difference between staying in his cell and doing that, a difference as large as the world itself. He now knew it for sure, and so he told Harry.

"It's okay Harry, I am sure it was worth it just for seeing you," said Sirius. "It will be different this time though, I promise."

They talked a little longer but it was clear that the mood from the table was not going to return. Sirius had died in the future and the only reason why his future was more uncertain now was because of James and the other time traveller kids. He had a lot of things to think through; he had to talk calmly to Dumbledore later also.

Remus needed some rest, at least his mood improved a bit after they told him that Teddy was happy, that Harry and Andie looked after him. The kids told him a few stories of Teddy in Hogwarts and brightened the mood a little.

Sirius and Remus explained the werewolf affair and all about the Animagus, it was only fair to be as honest with them as they had been. The kids seemed fascinated, but they appeared to already know that. Harry seemed very interested in his father's Animagus also. James asked Sirius to turn into a big black dog, but Sirius said that maybe another time. He could ask to be registered now, he was sure that the Ministry wouldn't press charges against him for previous offences, they were standing on thin ice with the press in his case. Still, Sirius didn't know if being a registered animagus was the right thing to do for him, even when Arthur suggested it.

Molly Weasley apologized to Remus and told him that he was welcome in the Burrow whenever he liked. Moony thanked her greatly, although Sirius imagined that his friend wouldn't be welcomed on a certain day of the month.

Everyone said good-bye on good terms then. Sirius had a few lively words with James and tried to make things right with Al. He also had his chance to say something to everyone else.

"I'm still making it up to you," he whispered to Percy without Molly hearing.

Then he moved to the twins and told them that he had to have a long conversation with them, maybe share some pranks. It turned out that they had the Marauder's Map somehow and, since they already knew who the Marauders were, they promised to give the map to Harry soon. All of this of course in a low voice and as far away from Molly Weasley's ears as possible.

Sirius gave them a huge smile.

Ron was more comfortable with him now and so was Ginny, but the girl was still quite shy. Ginny had barely said a few words throughout the night, but one could tell that she was really taken with Harry already.

"Bye," said Lily shyly.

"Hey, I will see you later, ok? You look just like your mother," said Sirius making Ginny blush, and Lily beam. "You can call me Uncle Padfoot by the way... that has a nice ring to it."

Lily nodded with a big smile on her small face.

Then it was his time to say good-bye to Harry. "We will be seeing each other soon kid, there's a lot more I can tell you about your parents."

"Thanks Sirius," he said smiling.

Remus soon was over with his good-byes as well, and Harry was stunned when he gave him a picture from his parents. In the picture James and Lily were dancing at some ball, and at corner Sirius was surely trying to get into the picture because that part had been ripped out by Remus. Sirius couldn't blame him; he had thought he was guilty after all. Harry beamed at Moony and thanked him with his eyes watering, unable to take his eyes off the photo now.

The Weasley brothers and the kids from the future all approached Harry, wanting to get a peek at his parents for sure. Ginny stayed behind, but her interest in looking at the picture was obvious too.

Sirius wondered if he could find something from James and Lily at his old room at Grimmauld Place. He hated that house, but it was maybe worth the effort if he could find something to give to Harry too.

At that moment, what Sirius wanted the most was to have time to himself to think about everything that had been said. He kept getting these blasting surprises and a moment of peace would do wonders for him.

Even so, when Sirius and Remus were already on their way to the fireplace, something happened. A whizzing sound came through the window and everyone stopped to look at the owl, which was now sitting next to James. The boy seemed as surprised as the rest of them.

"An owl for James? But no one knows him here," said Al.

"It's maybe from Rose, or Hugo," wondered Lily with a smile.

"I don't think so, Hermione does not own an owl as far as I know," said Arthur. "Go on James, take it."

Even Sirius and Remus had stopped to look at the boy, wondering what new information they would find out now. Sirius was almost sure that it was something bad based on his recent luck. It wasn't though, it was not bad at all.

After what seemed like a few long seconds, James took the letter. He passed a hand through his jet black hair, and then set his bright hazel eyes on the piece of paper. His eyebrows rose quickly.

"It's from Hogwarts!" he yelled, beaming.

* * *

**I actually had this chapter written differently, it was emotional and quite hard to do since it started on Sirius being in the cell. It is hard to write that kind of change and impact from one paragraph to the other. I decided to change it not because I thought I had something bad there but because it felt like it didn't fit the tone of this story. It was way too hard and different from the previous POVs. I hope I took the right choice, this was a chapter that needed to happen.**


	8. The Potter Vault

**It has been a while.**

**First of all, I want to thank Jetsun1119, who didn't review this chap but did help put the rest of the story in shape. She couldn't continue working on this one but I'm grateful for what she already did.**

**I also want to thank Inkzy, who is helping me now. Couldn't find a better reviewer to take the place, I really like Inkzy's style.**

* * *

**HARRY**

Hurried footsteps echoed around the Burrow as everyone ran and stumbled, trying to get ready. The trip to Diagon Alley was something people had been looking forward to, and after putting it off for a whole week, they were finally going there. Everyone was excited; even Ron was already awake and looking around desperately for one of his socks.

It was complete chaos. Harry could hear the annoyed voices of people struggling to get their turn at the bathroom from the hallway. Mrs. Weasley was storming the house from top to bottom, gathering all the school lists.

Harry was not sure if this was a normal shopping day at the Weasleys' house (or if it was all because of the future kids being there). Anyhow, it was best to get ready for when Mrs. Weasley called everyone downstairs.

Al, Harry and Ron were back at the fifth floor bedroom, but Hedwig was not there. The snowy owl was somewhere around the countryside, looking for a morning meal. Her day was certainly going to be more peaceful than everybody else's.

Harry was going through his trunk one last time as they waited for Ron to find his sock. It had been over a week now since Hagrid took him to get his own school supplies, and Harry had to make sure that everything was in place for Hogwarts. If there was something he was missing, this was going to be his last chance to get it before the term started.

It was then that Harry's attention moved to a little side compartment in his trunk. Slowly, he took out the picture that Remus Lupin had given to him a couple of days ago. It was a moving image of his parents. Harry couldn't take his eyes away from it. Before getting it, he didn't even know what his parents looked like. Harry found that he actually did look a lot like his father. He had a lot of James' features and, looking at his mother, Harry realized she was more beautiful than he ever imagined. In the picture, Lily Potter was waving around in her bright green dress, gracefully. They were both smiling, they were happy. It almost felt unreal. But it didn't really matter... From the very first moment Harry put his eyes on that picture, he knew that it was way more valuable to him than all the gold he had in his vault.

"He does look a lot like James," said a voice behind him.

Harry turned and saw Al standing there, staring at the picture too. He nodded and put everything back in his trunk. Both of Harry's sons had a lot in common with the original James Potter too.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked.

"Yeah,"

"I found it!" yelled Ron suddenly, standing up.

"What?"

"It was under the bed!" said Ron, waving his missing sock triumphantly. Harry and Al shared a smile.

Al turned to Harry, "So, are you going to buy something for Mum?" He asked.

Harry's face raised a bit, "Y-our Mum? Ginny?"

Al nodded, "Of course, tomorrow is her birthday."

"I know but-... I-I- don't know what to get for her..."

Harry blushed a bit. He did know Ginny's birthday was upon them, but he was not sure if the girl was expecting something from him. Ginny was still very shy towards Harry, but at least he had heard her voice a few times now. Although, they still blushed a lot whenever their children pushed them around together. Harry had already been thinking on giving her a gift but he wasn'tsure what he should get her. He could surely find something at Diagon Alley.

Ron snorted from the other side of the room. "Rubbish, you barely know her!"

"Err... yeah but she's my-" said Harry turned a little red.

"She's Mum!" Al insisted.

Ron narrowed his eyes at both of them and walked to a corner of the room, collecting his trainers. "Whatever, but I still think you don't have to."

At that, Harry looked at his son. It was still odd and not just because he knew who the kid was, but because he looked an awful lot like him. "What should I give to her? What does she like?"

"Quidditch!" He said at once, but Al's excitement died quickly. "But she cannot fly for the team yet, and she won't be able to play much here either, not like that."

Harry had to agree on that part, but that only meant he was back at the beginning.

After thinking for a while, Al shrugged. "Maybe James could help... or Lily."

Harry really hoped Al was right and that the boy's siblings could help him with Ginny's gift. So far, he was clueless.

"Oh, and Dad? Can we get some money? We need to give her something too..." said Al.

"Ehm... yes, sure."

Harry was already planning another visit to his vault either way, he had to get some money to buy James' school supplies after all. It was still odd to think that his future son was going to Hogwarts with him, but since they didn't know how long it would take to return the kids to their own time, Dumbledore said it was the best thing to do.

It was a big shock for everyone when they found out about the letter James had received. Everyone got really excited but not as much as James of course. Mrs. Weasley still insisted on Harry not paying for his supplies, not all of them at least; she said the money in his vault was for his own school years and that she could find a way to help with James' things. Mrs Weasley was worried it might be too expensive for Harry but he wasn't really going to use all that money in his vault, he could easily use it to buy James' supplies. Actually, he should be paying for anything Al and Lily needed too; they were his children after all.

"Breakfast is ready! Hurry up or we're going to be late!" came the first shout from Mrs. Weasley.

Ron's eyes sprung open as he started throwing some old clothes at Hugo. Everyone was going on the trip to Diagon Alley (including the kids). There was no-one to stay behind to take care of them since even Percy had to do his own shopping. It was going to be madness for sure, however Ron's mother believed that it was crucial for the children to at least have a few sets of clothes.

"I still don't know about James going with us, don't you think it's weird?" Ron asked, once the three of them were on their way down.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, but he should be able to go too. Why shouldn't he?"

Al agreed, "It will be fun, I wish I could go too."

Ron thought it for a moment and then he sighed, "I guess so, just hope Mum doesn't want us to be looking after him, he's older than me!"

Al laughed and Harry was older than him too. It made things even stranger now that he thought about it.

Breakfast was rushed, since they were already late. Even so, there was enough time for James to share his excitement about the trip and for the twins to make a joke or two.

"So, Ronnie, are you excited about the trip?" asked Fred, mischievously.

Ron raised an eyebrow, "Sure, why shouldn't I?"

A smile appeared on George at that. "No reason at all. You should be excited. After all, we heard about a certain bookish girl going too." He said lazily, as he took a large bite out of his toast.

Ron paled as a few people chuckled across the table.

Hermione, the bushy haired girl who was now married to Ron, was going to meet them at Diagon Alley with Hugo and Rose. Harry's niece and nephew had been staying with their mother since the hearing, but when Mrs. Weasley wrote to them to let them know about the shopping trip, they sent a quick answer saying they were going too.

"It's not like that!" Ron rushed, the colour had now returned to his face and he was blushing wildly. "I-I didn't say... I didn't mean... You know what I meant!"

"Boys! We don't have the time for this!" Mrs. Weasley complained. Mr. Weasley said a few words to the twins also, agreeing with his wife.

Aside from Percy, whose only reaction was to roll his eyes, everybody else was laughing including Ginny, who was trying to contain a silent chuckle next to Harry.

Harry couldn't stop staring at her then, thinking about all that had happened in the last week. Harry had certainly many doubts in his head, but that redhead girl was probably the most confusing one. Ginny didn't appear to be angry about their situation, but even so, Harry couldn't be sure. Aside from a few shy words here and there, the girl didn't say much. It didn't seem like they would be talking more openly any time soon either.

Ginny was not going to Hogwarts until next year, which was pretty weird considering her son was already going through his school list, checking all what he needed for his first year. Harry just hoped Ginny would be okay with staying home for a whole year while the rest of them went to Hogwarts.

"Listen to me carefully," said Mrs. Weasley, rousing Harry out of his thoughts, "I don't want anyone to get lost, so don't go too far away. Lily, Al, you stay with me or your grandfather at all times, am I clear?"

"Yes grandma." They both said in unison, nodding.

There were truly a lot of kids to watch over. Fortunately, Hermione's parents were going to be there to help with the kids, accompanied by Sirius and Remus.

At first, Harry wasn't sure what to expect from Sirius Black. Ever since Harry saw Sirius' picture on the newspaper a few days back, he had been waiting to meet him, uncertain of what kind of man his godfather truly was. Harry was very nervous before Sirius arrived. The photographs showed a dirty, crazy looking man but Harry saw past it. He was gladly surprised when the man came to the Burrow.

Sirius Black was cheerful and had plenty of incredible stories about his father, as did Remus Lupin. Apart from the incident with Al's name, it was a very pleasant surprise to meet both of them. Harry had a great time, at least until the bad news broke.

Harry just couldn't believe it. All of his life he had waited for a relative of some sort to come back and take him away from the Dursleys. It turned out that in the kids' time, his godfather came out of jail and tried to reach him. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Harry couldn't believe how incredibly unfair fate was. He really didn't know them that much, but thinking of them dying was unbearable.

Teddy Lupin, Azkaban, the werewolf thing... Harry had discovered plenty of things, but the only one that truly mattered was that he could trust them. Harry really wanted to get to know them better, and now he had the time to do it. Even if there really was a war coming, Sirius and Remus needed a better future this time, Harry needed a better future with them.

They all flooed away from the Burrow and soon enough, they found themselves inside the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius and Remus were already there, and greeted them happily.

Sirius smiled the moment he saw Harry and strode to them, ruffling his godson's hair. "How have you been Harry?"

Harry returned the smile, "Great!" He replied.

Al, Lily and James were soon surrounding the two men. Remus Lupin, who looked slightly better than the last time Harry saw him, gave them a few kind words also.

Ron and Ginny looked less nervous around them now. Ron even appeared to be slightly excited to share the shopping trip with the two marauders. When the twins greeted them, Harry noticed them whispering something to Sirius, amusing the recently freed man.

The day before, the twins had approached Harry and said that they had something to give to him. A map of Hogwarts called: The Marauders' Map. According to them it had belonged to Harry's father, Sirius and Remus. The twins had found it somewhere in the castle. Fred and George had said Harry was the rightful owner so they gave it to him, along with an explanation of how it worked.

Harry's eyes had sprung open, staring at the piece of paper. It seemed impossible that this map was tracking all of the footsteps in the castle. He was eager to see how it would work for him once he was at Hogwarts.

Even with all the chaos of the shopping trip, everyone seemed happy to be there. Percy even smiled when Sirius shook his hand. Still, the mood at the pub was a bit different. The entire Wizarding World knew Sirius was innocent, but that didn't stop people from throwing a few cautious looks their way.

"Maybe we should move on, this is becoming a little crowded." said Mr. Weasley.

"That's an understatement." Said Remus, as everyone moved to the back of the pub. James was now talking effusively with his namesake.

Harry moved closer to Sirius, grabbing his attention, "I have the map." He whispered.

Sirius barely turned his way to show him a wide smile. "I know you'll find a good use for it." He whispered back, winking.

They went to Gringotts, surprised by its marvellous front; most of the kids were too. Sirius was staring at it anxiously, maybe remembering something. It was hard to think that the man was just getting used to some parts of his life after ten years of being in prison.

Harry's godfather took a deep breath and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's go then, I have a new fortune to claim."

Once inside, Harry received another shocking surprise.

The impressive white marble building was more amazing on the inside, causing everyone to look around at the giant structure. Mrs. Weasley was about to decide who was going to take care of the kids while they went to the vaults, when a goblin approached them. The goblin went straight to Harry and Ginny.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter. My name is Erkgurg, we have been expecting you." The goblin said.

"You have?" Harry asked, looking at Ginny.

The eyes of the redhead girl expanded. She turned to at Harry with surprise, then at threw a weird and cautious to the goblin. "M-me?" she asked nervously.

The goblin nodded. "Now, if you follow me."

"Wait a moment, what is all of this about?" Asked Mrs. Weasley.

"We are aware that Mr. and Mrs. Potter are of age now, because of their recent marriage." The goblin said. "We have to discuss the details of his inheritance, the Potter wealth."

Behind Harry, most of the Weasleys were gaping but Sirius didn't look surprised, he was actually grinning.

"Bu-ut Ginny..."

"... Is a Potter now." Sirius said matter-of-factly, completing Mrs. Weasley's words.

Harry didn't even know the Potter inheritance existed. He couldn't understand it, he already had his vault, surely there had been a mistake. At Mrs. Weasley's side, Ginny was staring with a blushed face.

The short goblin rolled his tiny eyes, making some weird gestures with his long nose. "I don't have much time, two persons can join them in the meeting, with granted permission of course."

Mrs. Weasley was still arguing about the whole situation, pointing out that there was surely a mistake, but she was soon convinced that there was nothing wrong in following the goblin and finding out what this really was about. Remus, Percy and Mr. Weasley stayed back taking care of practically everybody while Sirius and Mrs. Weasley took Harry and Ginny forward, following the goblin to a side door.

After crossing through the door, they found themselves in a wide and well illuminated corridor. The walls were polished, white marble decorating them. The sound of their footsteps echoed loudly, as they followed the goblin. Sometimes, they crossed other goblins, who appeared to be in a hurry.

Sirius was the only one who seemed to be at ease.

At a crossroads, they found a big black sculpture of a scale, but since Erkgurg didn't slow his pace, they didn't get enough time to look at it properly. A couple of turns later, they found themselves in front of an enormous black stone door. It had a fancy crest garnished in gold and marble, and below it there was a plaque with a simple inscription.

**Bargnok**

**Head of Gringotts Wizarding Bank**

Harry was about to ask how were they going to push those heavy doors, when the goblin walked forward and put a hand on the black stone. The whole door disappeared before their eyes, leaving a 15 foot hole in the wall.

"Come in, I don't have all day." A voice commanded them from the inside.

Once they stepped in, the black door materialized behind, Erkgurg was no longer with them.

The scene took Harry's breath away. It was an impressively large room and it felt as roomy as the Ministry Atrium. On both sides, there were spiral staircases made of solid dark wood, those led to small portions of a second floor. Above, Harry could see an excessive amount of bookcases, but they seemed to be holding formal documents instead of normal books. They were standing on a neatly polished white marble floor, which had the same crest as on the black the end of the room, there was a large desk, where a goblin was waiting for them.

What caught Harry's attention the most was the absence of a wall. The largest window that Harry had ever seen covered the entire span of the wall behind the goblin's desk. The glass extended from the left wall to the right and from floor to ceiling. Through it, one could see most of the Diagon alley from above, and even part of a London. It was confusing, since they never used stairs to get to this room, Harry had been thinking that they were still at the ground floor.

Ginny's eyes were wide at the sight too.

"Good morning, Bargnok I presume." Sirius said.

The goblin behind the desk nodded sharply. "Mr. Black, we were expecting you around here sooner or later."

"It looks like you are up to date with the news."

The goblin didn't answer, instead he directed his rough voice to Harry and Ginny. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, have a seat."

Bargnok extended his hand, in front of the desk and the white marble crumbled, two dark wooden chairs breaking through the floor. After that, two more came for Sirius and Ginny's mother, but those were slightly farther from the desk.

"To be clear," said the head goblin once everyone had taken their seats, "you do know you are of age and that you can decide if you want to be alone for this meeting, am I right?"

Harry nodded, Ginny doing the same.

"Good. Still, with your age, it is alright to have companions with you, maybe even advisable." He continued.

Mrs. Weasley interrupted, "What is all of this about again?"

"The Potter inheritance. Mr. and Mrs. Potter are of age now and it is our duty to pass all of their belongings to them." Said Bargnok roughly.

"Those are Harry's things."

"By marriage right, they are also Mrs. Potter's belongings. Now, if you allow me, I have a will to read." The goblin said, taking an old scroll out of thin air.

Harry's face was in a state of shock and Ginny's, impassive. She frantically moved her eyes between Harry and the goblin, unsure of what was really happening.

Mrs. Weasley seemed stunned also, but she didn't get an opportunity to say anything more. Bargnok grabbed some glasses from his desk and put them on, starting to read.

"Will of James and Lily Potter.

The following is a formal contract abided by the laws of Gringotts Banking Organization and fully recognized by any Magical Community known to the world. It is established with the express petition of James and Lily Potter, inhabitants of-"

The goblin started reading at an impressive speed, and Harry had to concentrate a lot to remember all that the goblin was saying. Before he knew it, there were copies of the scroll in front of them both. Mrs. Weasley and Sirius were just beside them, trying to help.

Once in awhile, the goblin skimmed parts or stopped to elaborate on certain topics. On others, Sirius asked for time to explain a certain term, the goblin didn't seem to appreciate the interruptions.

Some time later, Sirius spoke out loud. "Listen, the important parts are coming..."

The goblin continued as if he hadn't heard him, "Article XXII. About the distribution of the Potter property and assets:

We James and Lily Potter have willingly decided to distribute the Potter's fortune as follows in case of our deaths:

10 000 galleons to our best friend and Harry's godfather, Sirius Black

10 000 galleons to our best friend Remus Lupin

10 000 galleons to our best friend Peter Pettigrew- "

"That bloody rat won't see a knut of that!" Sirius roared, leaning forward. Harry looked upset too.

"No interruptions!" Demanded the goblin in a loud tone.

Sirius moved back, frowning, and the goblin continued.

"The remaining of the fortune as well as the rest of our properties should go to our only son Harry James Potter.

If Harry is not off age by the time of our deaths his part of the inheritance should be managed by his guardian. His guardian should be:

As a first choice Sirius Black, his godfather

As a second choice Remus Lupin, our dear friend

And as a third choice Frank and Alice Longbottom, our close friends..."

Harry was dumbfounded. How much fortune did he have? If he was only giving 30 000 galleons, the rest of his fortune was surely more than that. He just couldn't imagine having so much money. The part about his guardians sparked Harry's interest. Yes, Sirius was a first choice and Harry knew why he couldn't take him then, but what about Remus? Couldn't he have come out with a way to sort his condition? And more importantly, who were the Longbottoms?

Why did he have to spend such an awful time at the Dursley's house when he had so many people named in that paper?

The goblin continued for a while, explaining a bit about terms and conditions that Harry couldn't understand. At one point, the goblin started reading a description of all the Potter properties and money that Harry was going to get, and his head almost hurt.

It was like an illusion, it didn't seem real. When will Harry get to time to spend all of that?

Harry turned to Ginny and he noticed that her jaw had dropped open. When she saw Harry looking at her, she lowered her face, hiding her long red mane. She was blushing.

Mrs. Weasley complained more than once, but Bargnok did his best to ignore her. After a while, the goblin stopped, leaving the scroll down.

"This will has been read already, but now we can close it." said the goblin, "Mr. Black was unable to receive the aforementioned amount because of known circumstances."

"I refuse to take my part. I do not lack the money, I am the Head of House Black now." Said Sirius.

The goblin made a lazy gesture with his hand. "Yes, yes, I am pretty aware. So be it then. We will check your situation after we finish here."

According to Sirius, 10 000 galleons were irrelevant with a fortune as wealthy the Blacks', and he wouldn't have taken those either way. He insisted on that money being Harry's.

Apparently, Remus Lupin had listened to the will before and he had refused his share of the inheritance too, which Harry found surprising. Judging by the state of Remus' clothes, he could say that the man could use the money.

"Frank and Alice Longbottom? Who are they?"

Those names apparently had an impact on Mrs. Weasley, since she lowered her sight a bit.

"They were aurors, fought in the war, two of the bravest." Said Sirius calmly.

"Frank and Alice Longbottom were unavailable to hear this will before." Said the head goblin, "They received serious mental injuries and are permanent residents at St. Mungo's. Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries." He finished coldly, in his rough voice.

Ginny gasped, and her mother looked quite upset too. Sirius was shaken by the news, but he was not that surprised.

"Now, can we proceed?" Asked the goblin. With a snap of his finger, quills appeared on Harry's and Ginny's hands.

"Wait, we haven't finished here." said Mrs. Weasley, "This... there has to be a way to fix this. This is not Ginny's money!"

"It is, they are both married. You know what that means." Replied Sirius.

The redhead woman frowned at him. "Well, there has to be something we can do. Only Harry should have access to it!"

"There isn't! Mr. and Mrs. Potter's marriage is as valid as any other." Claimed Bargnok.

Ginny was looking as if she wanted to sink into her chair deeper with each word, she was quite embarrassed. Harry more or less imagined what she was thinking so he put the matter to rest at once. "I really don't care. It is way too much money for myself, and... well she's my wife, so..."

The redhead girl turned to him, surprised, but whatever she was thinking, Harry couldn't guess it. Mrs. Weasley's arguments fell down after that, and soon she let everything go.

After accepting the inheritance, Sirius checked his own financial situation. Once Harry's godfather was done with the proceedings, they all went down to check the vaults.

The Black family vault, was deeper than Harry could ever imagine. There were moments when he thought the cart was never going to stop spiralling down. It had huge doors, but its surroundings felt dark, and a little moist. It was clear that no one had even passed by in years. Harry even turned around and couldn't see any other vault nearby.

The opening mechanism was complex and required a lot of magic and combinations. At a moment, Harry even thought that he heard something growling from the back of the vault, but it stopped when the doors opened with a loud click. The Black family crest was divided in half as the doors moved forward.

"Welcome to the Black vault, make yourselves at home." Said Sirius, jokingly.

The main room was a large green-stone circular chamber. It felt even colder and darker than outside. Old portraits and furnitures were set against the walls, and large banners of the family crest could be seen all around. To make the description brief, it felt like a dungeon.

Even so, in the large room there was not a single coin. Just a few doors around it.

"This is your vault? Why does it have doors?" Ginny asked, clearly intrigued.

Sirius nodded with a half smile, "You'll see. I came here a few times when I was younger, not much has changed. I think it could use a change in the decoration." Said Sirius, approaching a door at the right of the room.

When Sirius Black opened that door, everyone was taken aback by the golden shining that came from the other side. Piles and piles of endless coins were spread wide there, making Harry's jaw drop. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley looked pale.

Sirius hurried though, put way too much money in the bag he was carrying, and walked back to them. "Let's go, people are waiting up there."

His face was still sunken and old, and his hair was tattered and messy; but Harry was glad to see him smile then. After the initial surprise, it seemed like Sirius was now accepting his new reality. Maybe even looking past the fact that he had learned about his future death a couple of days ago.

The way to the Potter vault was long, but further upwards. The Potter vault was no way as deep as the Blacks', but it was still quite large. According to Erkgurg, who was guiding them again, the Potters' used to have an old vault deeper inside the bank but it was considerably smaller. The Potters were an ancient magical lineage, but the greatest part of their wealth was quite recent, gathered up by Harry's grandfather. Sirius talked only nicely about him, Fleamont Potter.

As it turns out, when Harry's grandfather couldn't use the small vault anymore, he bought a few more recent vaults and made a single big one out of them. Sirius had said that Harry's grandfather didn't really care about the "depth of the vault" as something that could give status to a wizard, unlike older families like the Blacks.

Padfoot, as Sirius insisted on Harry calling him, turned to Harry. "James said that it saved them a lot of time. It is a lot closer to the ground level. Purebloods just love to waste their time with stupidly long cart trips, don't they?"

Erkgurg said that there were a lot of security mechanisms on the Potter vault too, but Harry didn't notice. As soon as he put his hand on the large maroon doors, they vanished, just as the entrance at the head goblin's office.

"Only you or Mrs. Potter can open this vault. Your hands will disable any protective curse immediately." Said Erkgurg, but Harry didn't really pay attention to him, because he was shocked by what he saw.

As soon as the doors disappear, the whole sight of the vault was visible to them. From bottom to top, a large mountain of wizarding money was spread; gold, silver and bronze mixed. Apparently the Potters didn't believe in having a welcoming room inside the vault.

"Oh my! Merlin!" Came the mute voice of Mrs. Weasley, joined by a loud gasp from Ginny. The girl rubbed her eyes, unsure of what she was looking at.

It was not that there was more money there than in the Black vault but, since it was not hidden behind a distant door, the fortune in the Potter vault was more surprising. After the initial shock, Harry hurried to pack enough for him, Ginny and the kids, then he noticed something in the back.

"If the money is here, what's behind those doors?" Asked Harry out loud.

Sirius gave him a mischievous smile, "Why don't you go check?" He suggested.

Harry did so, and he was impressed by what he found. Behind those doors, there were more riches hidden. A room full of jewellery, and another with ancient portraits. Harry was truly overwhelmed.

"What's this?" The black haired boy asked at one point. He was looking at a table where a rare variety of objects were spread. They were strange objects such as: a corkscrew and an old bracelet. On top of those objects, there were labels that he didn't see at first.

"Those are portkeys to your different properties." Answered the goblin, who was now close by.

"If you touch those, they can transport you to your houses or vacation cabins; those sort of things." Cleared Sirius.

Harry's eyebrows shot upwards, he had heard that part during the will but it was still a lot to process. How could he own so many houses when just over a week ago, he was living under the stairs?

He noticed the labels on top of those objects; they read 'Italian villa', 'Ski Cabin', 'Potter House', among a few others. Harry backed away, afraid of touching one of those accidentally and ending up at some distant place.

"Mum, what's that?" Ginny was a few steps away, drawing her mother's attention to a few intriguing things in the room. Harry was exploring a bit too.

"Oh, look what we have here!" Said Sirius after a while, catching his godson's attention. Ginny and her mother were now at the entrance of the room, moving with caution.

Harry turned around and saw a small box, nothing magical or surprising about it. "What is it?" He asked.

Sirius handed the little box to him with a smile and Harry opened it at once. Inside, there were two wedding bands, they looked stunning. Both were made of strings of gold and silver intertwined, but only the small one had tiny pieces of rubies around it.

"Your parent's." Sirius said, "Well, actually they were your grandparent's before them, and so on. Not sure how long they have been in the family."

Harry moved his hand unconsciously forward, and when he touched one, they both disappeared.

"Where did they go?!" Harry asked, surprised and afraid of having lost an old family relic.

A gasp caught his attention at once, and when Harry turned towards the door, he noticed that Ginny was staring at her hand, with her brown eyes bigger than ever. A silver and gold ring was now resting beautifully on her left hand. Harry turned to his own hand and found the other one.

"How-"

"The Potter wedding bands are enchanted, they recognized you as the new masters." Said the goblin formally.

A wild tone of red flooded Harry's face. Another reminder that he was married to Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley had said that they were beautiful, but she insisted on them leaving them in the vault for now. Unfortunately, the rings wouldn't come off of their fingers. They were stuck. It was part of the enchantment, and Erkgurg said that they would be able to take them off after a day or two with the proper spell. They now had to wear them everywhere for a whole day. As if things weren't awkward enough yet...

They hurried out of the vault after that. People were waiting for them upstairs, and Harry didn't want to touch another thing that had an unexpected effect.

Soon, they were all back in the cart, Harry still struggling with all what had happened. The boy turned to his side to look at Ginny as they started moving upwards. The girl was throwing occasional glimpses at her hand, curiously.

He knew a few things about Ginny now, but it was still too little. That red-headed girl was his wife now and, judging by the kids, Harry knew they had a happy family in the future. Harry wanted to get to know her better, but that was going to be very difficult with Hogwarts coming. How was he going to talk to her now? Then something came to him, an idea.

As they approached the ground level of Gringotts, Harry turned forward, smiling.

* * *

**Next Chapter (Hermione's POV): Wardrobes, Whiskers and Wheezes**


End file.
